According to Hromadske, the Slovak prime minister gave an interview to Radio Expres, during which the presenter asked Matovic what he “promised the Russians in exchange for drugs,” to which the politician replied: “Transcarpathian Ukraine”.
Immediately after that, the prime minister added that he was joking.
According to him, there is an opinion that an agreement with Russia supposedly automatically means a betrayal of Slovakia.
“What do you think I promised them?
I didn’t promise them anything, they didn’t want anything from me, ”Matovic said and added that his task is to provide the Slovaks with a safe vaccine.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba reacted to this joke.
He suggested that Matovic "be exchanged for several regions of Slovakia."
“It is a pity that with his incorrect statements, the Slovak prime minister spoils the very friendly and sincere relations between Ukraine and Slovakia,” the Ukrainian minister wrote on Twitter.
After that, Kiev announced that the Charge d'Affaires of the Slovak Republic in Ukraine Matus Korbu was invited to the Foreign Ministry, to whom they protested.
"The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry demands an official apology from the Prime Minister of Slovakia Igor Matovich for incorrect statements," they said there.
In addition, the demarche was made by the Ukrainian Ambassador to Slovakia Yuriy Mushka.
On March 1, it was reported that Slovakia had decided to register the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine on its territory.