From left to right: Slovak PM Robert Fico, Polish PM Donald Tusk, Czech PM Petr Fiala, and Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán during a press conference in Prague on February 27, 2024. (source: TASR)
When a limousine with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico stopped in front of the Liechtenstein Palace in Prague's Malá Strana neighbourhood, before the start of the V4 summit, a group of demonstrators was waiting for him and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
“Fico and Orbán, cowardly Putin minions” and “Fico, go home to Russia”, read their posters.
The Slovak prime minister came to wave to the protesters and then left for the first meeting of the heads of government of the Visegrad Four (V4) in the last two years. On Monday the Czech and Polish prime ministers reacted strongly to Fico’s words regarding Ukraine from the past weekend, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk even questioned whether the cooperation of the Visegrad Four made any sense at all, but they chose more conciliatory words in Prague on Tuesday.
The prime ministers of the four Central European states agreed that it was one of the most difficult V4 summits and that the differences between them, especially on the issue of aid to Ukraine, are huge.
However, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic will continue to negotiate in this format.
“Visegrad is alive, Visegrad is important and we are able to accept differences,” Orbán said at the joint press conference.
Still, different opinions were felt in the room.
