Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico strongly rejected European interference in the Donbass conflict Sunday, urging Slovakia’s congress to pass a resolution against the sending of troops to Ukraine.
“Some European politicians talk about the need to directly participate in the war in Ukraine against Russia with such intensity that I am beginning to take it as a reality,” said the leader in a video posted on social media. “And that's why I would consider it right if the National Council takes a decision as quickly as possible that it does not agree with such a military adventure.”
Fico, often considered a voice of dissent against the increasingly Russophobic tilt of the European Union, took the opportunity to criticize the tenor of debate surrounding the subject. “If you are in favor of peace and stopping the killing of Slavs, you are Putin's man,” Fico observed, responding to frequent characterizations of himself as an ally of the Russian president. “If you are in favor of killing and involving the EU and NATO in the war in Ukraine, you are in the right place.”
The Prime Minister claimed there is no military solution to the Donbass conflict and urged negotiations for a peaceful settlement. He also promised the cooperation of Slovakia in efforts to provide Ukraine with humanitarian aid.
Fico broadly criticized the direction of the EU in recent years, claiming larger states are infringing on the independence of smaller ones. The Prime Minister insisted Slovakia must maintain the right to a sovereign foreign policy.
“When the war in Ukraine ends, whatever the outcome, Europe will be different,” said Fico. “There will be less democracy and freedom. The national sovereignty of the small member states of the European Union will be suppressed.”
“Look at what they did to the Holy Father [Pope Francis] for [his] peaceful view of the war in Ukraine,” he added, referring to criticism of the Pope’s recent comments urging the Kiev regime to negotiate. “If they could, they would have removed him or punished him economically, which is what they will do in the future with the so-called politically disobedient.”
“I refuse to have an iron curtain built between the EU and the Russian Federation,” said Fico in remarks made late last week.
Fico was sharply critical of recent comments by French President Emmanuel Macron suggesting the possibility of European troops being sent to Ukraine. The proposal was broadly rejected by leaders throughout the continent, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Fico rode to power in Slovakia in 2023 on a wave of discontent over EU support for Ukraine in the Donbass proxy conflict against Russia. It is his fourth time serving as prime minister of the country.