Slovak FM meets Lavrov in Turkey.

Slovakian Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar met with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Turkey on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Antalya, Turkey, on March 2. The Russian Foreign Ministry claimed the ministers discussed the "most pressing issues on the international agenda," including the "situation" in Ukraine. The Slovak Foreign Ministry has yet to announce the meeting.

The meeting raised eyebrows amid the West's decision to sever ties with Russia amid its full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago. Blanar is one of the few European leaders to have met with a Russian authority in person since the onset of the full-scale war. The current Slovakian government has made several moves and statements perceived as Ukraine-skeptic over the past few months.

Elected in September on a populist, Ukraine-skeptic platform, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico halted arms supplies from Slovakia's military stocks and repeatedly criticized both defense assistance for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia. In January, the Slovak Culture Ministry reversed a ban on cooperating with Belarus and Russia. Meanwhile, Robert Fico came out with another anti-Ukrainian public statement on Jan.

20, telling Slovak radio that he would block Ukraine's accession to NATO. In November 2023, Fico said that Slovakia should prepare for "the end of the war in Ukraine and for the standardization of Slovak-Russian relations."

Not backing Ukraine is 'disastrous for Slovak security,' says former defense minister One of Ukraine's worst fears appears to have come to pass: a key ally announced a halt to military aid.

Slovakia, Ukraine's small eastern neighbor of 5.4 million people, gave generously from its Soviet-era arsenal and welcomed Ukrainian refugees after the full-scale war began.

Now, a recent electi...