Let's start at the beginning.
Tell us a little about your journey to Kyiv. How did you get there?
We got there by train.
During peaceful time, Ukraine is using trains for public transport
70 % of the time.
Ukraine has the larget European railway network on the continent.
Half of its railway is electrified.
The railway network is still working.
Differently in different parts of the country.
But you can travel from Polish border to Kyiv by train.
There are different routes and people use this specific route.
What did you see on the way there through the windows?
What did it look like?
We travelled through the western part of the country.
There's no war on the ground, only some attacks
by missiles and planes.
But even from the train
you clearly see that this part of the country is preparing for the war.
There are blockades,
checkpoints, military vehicles,
people in uniforms.
So you see that even this part of the country, which is
quite far away from the actual fighting,
is prepared for war.
I don't think that Russia will come so far.
What can you tell us about what you discussed
with mr. Zelenskiy.
We discussed real issues. there were no theoretical debates.
This means sanctions, all kind of help for Ukraine,
humanitarian help, technical help,
how to help the refugees and also military help.
We also discussed the future,
the possible framework for lasting peace agreement,
which will settle
the issues in this part of the continent.
Something we missed to do 30 years ago.
We also spoke how to rebuild
and renew Ukraine. We brought them
a draft plan from the OECD.
The OECD is composing a very ambitious plan
on how to help Ukraine to rebuild after the war.
We discussed everything that is important, but the most urgent need
is how to help Ukraine defend itself,
because only when Russian tanks and troops are stopped,
will be the moment when Russia is prepared to negotiate.
Were you able to offer mr. Zelenskiy and Ukraine solid military help,
more help than what is being offered now?
Actually, a lot of help
has been offered so far.
The problem is that all offers haven't been fulfilled yet.
But the time is of essence. Every day
doesn't have just 24 hours.
Every day in Ukraine during the war is counted
in hundreds of lives.
On both sides. We discussed concretely
how to increase the speed of the delivery
and how to make priorities, because not everything
is equally important
regarding the demand of the time.
Some things were important yesterday.
How was Mr. Zelenskiy? We see him on the TV
how he encourages people of Ukraine, how diplomatic he is,
when he's dealing with parliaments. He's also passionate,
becasue he's defending his country.
But he is under serious pressure
and in agony as his country is being destroyed around him.
How did he appear to you?
Well, I know from our own experiences, how you feel
after you're not sleeping for two or three weeks.
He is really tired.
But at the same time his energy is enormous.
He's radiating
the determination of the whole nation.
and this is why 90 % of Ukrainians are supporting him.
We have also spoken
with all opposition leaders.
They are all behind him, they are supportive.
Ukrainian political landscape before the war
was quite turbulent,
but now all opposition leaders
are behind him. I have never seen in my life
such level of unity, not only the unity of the nation,
but the unity of the political class.
So Russians miscalculated heavily
the political landscape of Ukraine.
I think they counted on some parties to support them
and that they will fight among themselves. This is not happening.
And this unity is viable, so when you speak with these people,
we also spoke with some very capable young ministers
of the Ukrainian government, you see that now they are bringing
the same determination and it is really something different
when you meet physically
with somebody than just following what is happening on screens.
But also on the screens, I think we can all see this energy
which is making the Ukrainian nation
being reborn in this difficult situation.
And it is really what I said there. I really believe
that currently, there is no other European country
where European values, the basic values,
the basic values of, I can say,
the whole Western civilisation are defended
more than in Ukraine. People are defending
their way of life with their own lives.
This is why we have to be aware that they are not fighting
only for themselves, they are not fighting only for the territory
of their homeland or of Europe,
they are fighting for the very way of life
they want to share. And we have to respect this and help them.
Yes. So Mister Zelensky has said that Ukraine
cannot now join NATO. But do you think
that Ukraine should still join the EU?
Because you have been critical of the EU in the past,
but you have also called for Ukraine to be fast tracked for admission.
How do you feel about it now?
Neither NATO nor the EU,
they are not, you know,
they are not
something that is without any mistakes,
but if people were not aware
so far, especially young generations,
that both, the EU and NATO
were created not first because of the economy
and because of the welfare and so on, but mostly
to preserve peace, to bring peace to this continent
after two devastating wars
during the last century. This is the most important thing
and there are basic values and there are some things
you can discuss and you can argue
on the basis of everyday political issues.
Now we are talking about basic things
and if Ukraine is prepared
to change its constitution because the EU and NATO membership
is part of the Ukrainian constitution,
if they are prepared to discuss
this issue, to put the NATO membership aside
and this is something that Russia is putting as the main reason
for invading Ukraine. If the Ukrainian leadership
is prepared to make this concession, than the hot potato
is on the EU table, of course,
and this is why I think we have to accept this challenge
and we have to stop pretending
that this is the situation
and it is normal that we need 15 years of negotiations
and bickering about small issues.
This is a strategic decision and for Ukraine,
the EU membership is some kind of security,
a part of the security guaranty's framework
which is institutional because they were cheated.
They were misled in 1994
when the big powers signed the Budapest declaration
where Ukraine abandoned or got rid of nuclear weapons.
And the big powers
guaranteed to Ukraine the territorial integrity
and political sovereignty. And we have seen
during the last two decades that nobody fulfilled these promises
and they will not buy the same stuff for the second time.
They need some institutional guaranties
and if the EU is something
like that for them, we have to respect it. But I do not think
this is enough. If you want lasting peace
in this part of the continent, I think that we have to put
everything in this peace agreement. At the table,
we do not only need Russia and Ukraine,
we also need the countries
which signed the Budapest declaration
26 years ago and I think we also need China
that signed the declaration a year after.
We really need big powers there
if we want this peace agreement
to last for the next generation. If we want to fix something,
we should have fixed it decades ago. -Right.
Tell me this. Do you think that other leaders
will now be going to Ukraine
to show their support like you have
for Mr Zelensky and also for Ukraine itself?
Yes, they will. They will.
Some of them, I think, very soon, and it is very important.
When we entered the Ukrainian train, we saw in the eyes of those people
working on the train
how happy they are that somebody is coming
because frankly speaking, during the last three weeks,
they were able to follow just the opposite route
Some ambassadors left Kyiv even before the Russian aggression,
so now we have to turn
the trend and our first proposal
together with the Polish and Czech PM
when we returned from Kyiv this morning, was that the EU
has to send its representative back to Kyiv
to have somebody there who can represent us physically,
not only through the screens. And I am also asking other countries
to do the same. -Mister Janša,
can you tell me this. What do you think now
should happen with Mr Putin? Everybody is going to Ukraine,
showing their support so clearly for Mr Zelensky.
That leaves Mr Putin very isolated.
What do you think is the next step for him? -Not only Putin,
but also the country where he is the president,
is very isolated. Only four members of the UN
supported Russia in the last voting and 141 countries
voted against. This is a serious issue for Russia
because in the Russian public, they demonised NATO,
the EU is not taken seriously because it is not a hard power.
But they are members of the UN security council
and it is a different story. It was a huge defeat
and they are not able to hide it totally from the public.
But on the future of Mr Putin, I think
if he is prepared to negotiate
then he will have influence
over what will happen with him in the future. If not
and if he is military defeated in Ukraine,
which is possible now. This was not a viable option
for 99 % of those who followed the development there
three weeks ago. Now, this is a viable option.
If this happens, then he will not decide his own future
so his time is now. He is called to the negotiating table
and at some moment,
he will have to decide that he has to withdraw
his military units from Ukraine and with the withdrawal,
we will withdraw the sanctions. Faster the withdrawal
of the Russian military, faster the lifting of the sanctions.
Okay then. Thank you so much. -Thank you.