The invitation comes on the heels of the Dec. 4 publication of the U.S. National Security Strategy, which caused an uproar in Europe for suggesting that the Trump administration will support ideologically aligned European patriotic parties, such as Fico’s leftist-populist and nationalist Smer.
Late last week, U.S. Ambassador to France Charles Kushner met with senior figures from that country’s far-right opposition National Rally, while U.S. Under Secretary of State Sarah Rogers met with opposition far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party politician Markus Frohnmaier in Washington.
The letter from Trump, dated Dec. 11, was given to Fico by U.S. Deputy Energy Secretary James Danly, who was in Bratislava this week.
“Our relationship means a great deal to me and reflects the strength of the tremendous bond between the United States of America and Slovakia. Our countries have never been closer. I am confident that, by continuing to work together, we will achieve even greater things — including formalizing our civil nuclear cooperation,” Trump wrote in the letter.
Washington and Bratislava are preparing to sign a nuclear power deal that will formally tap Westinghouse, the major American nuclear power company, to build a new nuclear reactor in western Slovakia, with costs estimated at €13 billion to €15 billion.
The decision was announced earlier in July and drew criticism from the Slovak opposition after Fico’s government bypassed the tender process to award what is the largest investment project in Slovakia’s history.
Slovakia faces a football playoff in March against Kosovo, and then a potential final qualifier against Turkey or Romania in order to reach the 2026 Men’s World Cup in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.