Bratislava/Brussels – Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on Wednesday rejected the claims of the magazine Politico that, on the sidelines of last week’s European Council meeting in Brussels, he spoke to some EU state leaders about his concerns over the “psychological state” of U.S. President Donald Trump, whom he had previously met at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. Politico based its claims on five unnamed European diplomats. However, Fico called the magazine’s information lies, writes TASR.
According to two diplomats, the Slovak prime minister used the word “dangerous” when describing the impression the head of the White House made on him during their meeting on January 18 in Palm Beach, Florida. Robert Fico said that he and Donald Trump discussed the war in Ukraine, the EU, and bilateral relations there.
The extraordinary EU summit in Brussels, which took place on January 22, was convened by the President of the European Council Antonio Costa precisely because of Trump’s threats related to Greenland.
Fico allegedly voiced his impressions of Trump during an informal discussion with some leaders and top officials of the Union, not during official roundtable talks, the unnamed diplomats said.
“Nobody heard anything, nobody saw anything, there are no witnesses, yet nothing prevented the Politico portal from coming out with lies.” Robert Fico
According to a statement from the Office of the Government of the Slovak Republic, the prime minister strongly rejects the magazine’s claims. “Nobody heard anything, nobody saw anything, there are no witnesses, yet nothing prevented the Politico portal from coming out with lies,” Fico said in the statement.
Four of the five sources cited by Politico are said to come from four different EU governments, and one of them is a high-ranking EU official. All of them noted that they do not know the details of what exactly Trump said to Fico. However, according to one of the diplomats, Fico seemed “traumatized” by the meeting with Trump, who was supposedly “out of it.” Fico used this word according to the diplomat, who allegedly heard it from one of the participants in the conversation.
“I did not speak at the informal summit in Brussels, just like other prime ministers. For example, none from the V4 countries. I openly criticized this summit, its preparation and its convening. At the summit, I did not speak informally with any prime minister or president about my visit to the USA,” Fico added in the statement of the Office of the Government of the Slovak Republic, adding that “if I need to express a critical opinion, I do not need mouthpieces for that.”
Politico stated in the article, even before Fico’s Wednesday statement, that it had tried several times to obtain a reaction from the spokespersons of the Slovak prime minister to the claims of the sources, but without success. By contrast, the deputy spokeswoman for the White House, Anna Kellydid comment. “This is absolutely fake news from anonymous European diplomats who are trying to make themselves important. The meeting at Mar-a-Lago was positive and productive,” she said.
Politico in the article also quotes a high-ranking official of the Trump administration who was present at the meeting between Fico and Trump. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he did not recall any unpleasant moments or inappropriate exchanges. According to him, the meeting, which was requested by Fico, was pleasant, normal, and also included several informal conversations that were captured by the White House photographer.
The health of the 79-year-old U.S. president has increasingly become a topic of discussion at all levels, a certain EU official said according to Politico. Trump has repeatedly and emphatically denied suffering from any illness affecting his cognitive abilities. This week, for example, he told New York Magazine that he does not suffer from Alzheimer’s disease either. (January 28)
