Bratislava will stop supplying Ukraine with weapons, limiting its support for its neighbor to “humanitarian and civilian aid,” Slovakia’s new Prime Minister, Robert Fico, has announced, as per Euronews.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Slovakia has supported Kyiv, donating arms and opening its borders to refugees fleeing the war.
On 25 October, the pro-Russian leader of the SMER party, Robert Fico, was appointed as the new prime minister of Slovakia. During his election campaign in 2023, Fico made anti-Ukrainian statements numerous times. Officials who did not support Ukraine were appointed to key positions in the new Slovak government.
Newly appointed Slovakia’s Foreign Minister, Yuri Blanar, for instance, called the Russian aggression against Ukraine “a conflict between Russia and the United States,” claimed that Ukraine was “fighting against its own people,” and opposed the supply of weapons to Ukraine.
In new statements to MEPs, Fico said, “The war in Ukraine is not ours, we have nothing to do with it.”
“We see aid to Ukraine solely as humanitarian and civilian aid, and we will no longer supply Ukraine with arms”, he claimed, the day after his appointment as head of a coalition government that includes a pro-Russian far-right party.
He also announced that he would not support new sanctions against Russia “until we have analyzed their impact on Slovakia.”
“If such sanctions are going to harm us, as is the case with most sanctions, I see no reason to support them”, Fico added.
Related:
- Pro-Russian politician Robert Fico’s party wins Slovakia’s parliamentary election
- Who is Robert Fico? Slovak leader’s ties with Russia exposed in hacked files
