A plane ferrying Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico to Brussels for a meeting with European Commission top brass was turned around as a result of a technical problem that closed Belgian airspace on Thursday.
Fico was due to arrive in Brussels to meet Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The pro-Kremlin Slovak leader has been embroiled in a high-profile spat with the European Union and with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over Kyiv’s decision to halt Russian gas transit through Ukraine. Slovakia — and Hungary — wanted to extend a deal that allowed them to continue importing Russian fuel through Ukraine, but Kyiv rebuffed their requests.
A spokesperson for Brussels Airport said the airspace over the EU capital was closed for around an hour on Thursday afternoon due to an unspecified technical problem with air traffic control.
A Commission spokesperson confirmed the Fico meeting would be postponed, but did not say to when.
Fico was also scheduled to meet with Europe’s Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen.
“As usual, man makes up his mind and God changes his mind,” Fico told reporters on the plane back to Bratislava in a video posted on his Facebook page.
Fico said he planned to return to Brussels on Monday to attend an informal European Council summit, but in addition to meeting EU leaders, he would also try to talk one-on-one with von der Leyen and Jørgensen about a gas deal. “The issue is of enormous importance,” Fico said.
Earlier this week, Fico had called Zelenskyy an “enemy” of Slovakia due to the gas transit dispute.
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