Czech Republic Prime Minister, Petr Fiala, reportedly altered his approach to discussing a plan for acquiring 800,000 rounds of ammunition for Ukraine after finding out that Slovakia's pro-Russian leader, Robert Fico, would also participate in the discussions.
This development was reported by the Czech news outlet Aktualne.
The discussion in question took place at an ally meeting in Paris three weeks ago, organized by French President Emmanuel Macron. The aim was to collaboratively address Ukraine's immediate needs.
Fiala had initially intended to share in-depth information about how the Czech Republic sourced 800,000 shells available for purchase for Ukraine from third countries, including details on their origin and cost.
The meeting was initially expected to host around 15 leaders, but the list expanded to include Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico, who regularly makes openly anti-Ukrainian statements.
Upon learning of Fico's attendance, Fiala allegedly chose to omit certain details from his speech, concerned that sensitive information might inadvertently reach Moscow through the Slovak Prime Minister.
Sources within Czech diplomacy confirmed to the media that Fiala had indeed made this cautious decision and later shared the omitted information in private talks with a few leaders.
This incident comes amid a backdrop of strained relations, as the Czech Republic recently paused intergovernmental talks with Slovakia over deep-rooted disagreements, especially concerning the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
Fico criticized Prague for risking the Slovak-Czech relationship. Additionally, the "Visegrad Four" summit witnessed heightened tensions, with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán refuting claims that the Czech and Polish prime ministers had confronted him vocally over Ukraine support issues.
