© Reuters. Slovakia’s President Zuzana Caputova and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy meet at the Presidential Palace in Bratislava, Slovakia, July 7, 2023. REUTERS/Radovan Stoklasa
(Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy arrived in Slovakia on Friday to meet Slovak President Zuzana Caputova, he and her office said, as he continues a tour of several NATO states to drum up support for Kyiv’s bid to join the military alliance.
Zelenskiy arrived in Slovakia after talks in the Czech Republic and Bulgaria over the past two days, and he is expected to travel later on Friday to Turkey.
“Slovakia is next,” Zelenskiy said on Twitter, adding he would meet Caputova along with Prime Minister Ludovit Odor and the head of parliament Boris Kollar.
Caputova’s office said Zelenskiy and she would discuss the situation on the frontlines of Ukraine’s war with Russia and the July 11-12 NATO summit at which Kyiv is seeking an invitation to begin the process of joining the military alliance.
“(Zelenskiy) continues his series of visits to countries that support Ukraine,” the presidential office said.
Slovakia has been a strong backer in military aid and support to Ukraine during the conflict, and is one of the few allies to provide fighter jets to Kyiv, handing over 13 Soviet-era MiG-29 planes earlier this year.
