Slovakia's Foreign Ministry Announces Support for EU Accession Talks with Ukraine

Foreign Minister of Slovakia Juraj Blanar said Bratislava is ready to support the decision to open accession talks with Ukraine at the December summit, the website of the Slovak Foreign Ministry reports.

"Having assessed the reform efforts in Kyiv, we are ready to support the opening of accession talks, which will be discussed at the upcoming European Council meeting. However, our eastern neighbour still has a long and thorny path ahead of it, and all the necessary measures need to be not only approved, but also implemented and monitored," Blanar was quoted as saying.

He also stressed the need to "focus more on finding solutions for a peaceful settlement".

However, the Minister reiterated the position of the new government in Bratislava that Slovakia does not plan to provide military assistance to Ukraine.

"At the same time, we will continue to provide humanitarian support to Ukraine, in particular in the area of demining and preparation of energy infrastructure for the winter, and we have already taken concrete steps in this regard," the Slovak Foreign Minister said.

Earlier, the Association of Slovaks in Zakarpattia called on European Council President Charles Michel and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico to support the decision to open negotiations with Ukraine on joining the European Union at the upcoming EU summit. The text of the letter was posted on Facebook on behalf of the Society of Slovak Intellectuals of Zakarpattia by its head, Ernest Horvat.

On 8 November, the European Commission recommended that the EU start negotiations on Ukraine's accession. After that, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree on preparations for them.

EC President Ursula von der Leyen stressed that Ukraine had implemented 90% of the reforms required by the EU. She noted that work on the negotiation process "can begin immediately", but that Kyiv needs to complete several more reforms to make it constructive.

At the summit of EU leaders on 14-15 December, the issue of opening accession talks with Ukraine is to be considered. Hungary categorically opposes the opening of negotiations, while Slovakia's position has remained uncertain.

After meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that he had not changed his mind about the decisions on Ukraine at the EU summit.

Kuleba predicts that the discussion on opening or not opening negotiations with Ukraine will continue literally "until the last minute" of the summit.