ISTANBUL

Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico told EU leaders at a summit last week that he was shocked by US President Donald Trump’s “psychological state” during a meeting in Florida on Jan. 17, five European diplomats briefed on the discussion told Politico.

Fico described Trump’s demeanor as “dangerous” during their in-person meeting at the US president’s Mar-a-Lago residence, the diplomats said, according to the report published Wednesday.

However, Fico, one of the EU’s most pro-Trump leaders, quickly denied the report of “the hateful, pro-Brussels liberal portal Politico.”

“I must emphatically reject the lies of the Politico portal about how I assessed my meeting with US President D. Trump,” he wrote on American social media network X. “I did not speak informally with any prime minister or president about my visit to the US.”

The alleged exchange took place in Brussels last Thursday on the margins of an emergency EU summit convened to address transatlantic relations following Trump’s threats to seize Greenland.

The meeting also aimed to ease tensions after Trump backed away a day earlier from plans to impose tariffs on some European countries linked to the dispute.

According to Politico, Fico made the remarks during an informal gathering with several leaders and senior EU officials, rather than during the summit’s formal discussions.

The reported comments contrasted with Fico’s public account of the Mar-a-Lago visit, shared earlier in a video posted on his official Facebook page.

In the video, Fico said the invitation to Trump’s Florida residence reflected “high respect and trust” from the US president.