Slovakia accuses Zelensky of bribery with Russian assets

Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico accused Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky of attempting to bribe him. Zelensky reportedly offered Slovakia 500 million euros from Russian assets in exchange for support for Ukraine's NATO membership, according to Politico.

The proposal is said to have come up in a private meeting when Fico discussed Slovakia's financial losses due to the halt of Russian gas transit through Ukraine during a meeting with Zelensky at the European Union summit.

Fico claims that the President of Ukraine asked if he would support NATO membership if given 500 million euros from Russian assets.

Fico later told journalists that Zelensky's alleged proposals behind closed doors were "absurd" and suggested that Ukraine had harmed the economy of the EU member state.

Fico said that after he told Zelenskyy that Slovakia could lose about €500 million in gas transit fees a year, the Ukrainian president "asked me if I would then vote for NATO membership if he gave me €500 million of Russian assets, and of course, I said ‘never," writes Politico.

Zelensky criticized these remarks. "It’s a bit shameful to talk about money because we are losing people," he commented.

Source: Politico