EU-NATO Visegrad “Quartet” split into two factions due to Russia-Ukraine conflict

The Czech Republic and Poland are providing military aid to Ukraine, while Hungary and Slovakia have said they will not send weapons to Kiev but are ready to contribute humanitarian or financial aid.

V4 = V2+V2

The Visegrad Four (V4), the oldest informal political alliance in both the EU and NATO, is deeply divided when it comes to views on the war in Ukraine and approaches to resolving the conflict.

Founded in 1991, the Visegrad group – comprising the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia – has long been a powerful voice in Brussels. The leaders of the four countries, representing a combined 65 million citizens, have shaped European policy on issues ranging from immigration to agriculture and even foreign policy.

World - EU-NATO Visegrad — Prime Ministers of the V4 countries (from left): Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, meet in Prague, February 27, 2024. Photo: Polskie Radio

But since the outbreak of conflict next door and changes in political leadership in each of its member states, the group has been deadlocked over the thorniest foreign policy issue in Europe today: the war in Ukraine. Here, the divergence has become so clear that it would be fair to say that the V4 is now V2+V2.

At this end, the Czech Republic and Poland, as two of Kiev's strongest political and military supporters, want to supply more and faster weapons to Ukraine.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, Hungary and Slovakia refuse to send arms to the East and oppose a military solution to the war. Budapest and Bratislava, in particular, have developed a clear policy of easing EU sanctions against Russia, questioning Ukraine’s integration into the 27-nation bloc, and have in the past blocked EU aid to Kiev.

Disagreement

Most recently, disagreements over the war between Russia and Ukraine were publicly revealed at the Visegrad Summit in the Czech Republic's capital Prague on February 27.

At the meeting, the four prime ministers – Petr Fiala of the Czech Republic, Donald Tusk of Poland, Robert Fico of Slovakia and Viktor Orban of Hungary – all condemned Russia's actions against Ukraine and agreed that Kiev needed help.

However, they have different views on what led to Russia's military incursion into Ukraine and on what kind of assistance they are willing to provide to the Eastern European country.

While the Czech Republic and Poland are united in their enthusiastic support for Ukraine, including providing arms, Hungary and Slovakia have a different view.

“I think I can say that there are differences between us,” said Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, who chaired the Visegrad Summit in Prague. “I will not keep it a secret, it makes no sense if we have different views on the causes of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and how to resolve it.”

World - The EU-NATO Visegrad — V4 leaders openly expressed their disagreement on many aspects of the Russia-Ukraine war at the Prague Summit, February 27, 2024. Photo: Hungary Today

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk signaled that Warsaw is ready to support Prague's initiative to purchase much-needed ammunition for Ukraine from third countries and deliver it to the front line as quickly as possible.

Slovakia and Hungary have refused to provide weapons and ammunition to Ukraine, but have not ruled out other forms of assistance. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been quick to point out that Budapest is not opposed to humanitarian or financial aid, citing the example of how Hungarian doctors are helping on the front lines.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said the West’s approach to the war was “an absolute failure”. “A military solution to the conflict in Ukraine is something I do not believe in,” Fico said, reiterating that the EU should come up with a peaceful strategy for the war.

The Slovak leader also opposes EU sanctions against Russia and wants to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO. He said that the amount of Western weapons supplied to Ukraine would not change the outcome of the war.

“The war can only end through negotiations,” Mr Orban, a nationalist, agreed, adding that peace talks should begin “as soon as possible”.

Ultimately, there is one thing all four leaders agree on about the war: None of them is willing to send troops to fight in Ukraine. This appears to be a rebuttal to comments made by French President Emmanuel Macron after a Ukraine-related meeting in Paris the day before (February 26), in which the French leader noted that Western countries cannot rule out sending men and women in uniform to Kiev in time of war .

Minh Duc (According to Euronews, RFE/RL, European Pravda)

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