Central European PMs stress shared ties amid friction on war

By JUSTIN SPIKE
Associated Press

KOSICE, Slovakia (AP) — The leaders of four Central European countries have emphasized issues that tie them together and downplayed those that have caused divisions during a summit in Slovakia. The meeting Thursday between the prime ministers of the Visegrad Four countries — Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary — came after fault lines appeared in the regional bloc over Hungary’s approach to the war in Ukraine. The meeting in Kosice produced points of agreement. But disagreements remain over what Hungary’s V4 partners view as a conciliatory approach toward Russia. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said his legislature would approve the NATO accession of Finland and Sweden early next year, and provide financial aid to Ukraine on a bilateral basis.