Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Saturday the only way to end Russia’s war against Ukraine is for Kyiv to give up some of its territory to the invaders, and reiterated his opposition to NATO membership for Ukraine.
“There has to be some kind of compromise,” Fico told Slovak public broadcaster RTVS on Saturday, according to media reports. “What do they expect, that the Russians will leave Crimea, Donbas and Luhansk? That’s unrealistic.”
The pro-Russia prime minister took power in December after his leftist-populist Smer party won September’s election with promises to stop sending weapons to Ukraine, to block Kyiv’s potential NATO membership, and to oppose sanctions on Russia.
Fico reiterated his opposition to Ukraine’s bid to join NATO in Saturday’s interview, which came ahead of a planned meeting between the Slovak leader and Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on Wednesday.
“I will tell him that I am against the membership of Ukraine in NATO and that I will veto it,” Fico said, referring to Shmyhal. “It would merely be a basis for World War III, nothing else.”
“Ukraine is not an independent and sovereign country,” Fico continued, but “under the total influence and control of the United States.”
“I will confirm that he will not receive any weapons” from the Slovak government, Fico said, accusing Ukraine of being “one of the most corrupt nations in the world.”
The Slovak PM last week expressed support for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in blocking a €50 billion EU aid package for Ukraine in December. “I will never agree that a country should be punished for fighting for its sovereignty. I will never agree with such an attack on Hungary,” Fico said on Tuesday during a joint press conference with Orbán in Budapest.
Slovakia’s Culture Ministry also announced it will resume cooperation with Russia and Belarus following its suspension in March 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine.
