Slovakian Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar said the initiative to create a Ukraine aid fund requires detailed study, but if the republic supports it, it will be in areas not related to arms supply.
Previously NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg proposed creating a contribution fund to finance Ukraine over five years in the amount of $100 billion as part of a package of documents that will be signed at the alliance’s July summit in Washington. The move is seen as a hedge against the prospect of a second Donald Trump presidency in the United States; observers speculate Trump would end US support for Ukraine and possibly reduce funding for NATO.
“A proposal was presented. These were three very important areas, but they are still at an early stage and it would be premature to express any position on them," Blanar told reporters. "At the end of the discussion, the [NATO] Secretary General stated that despite the enormous support from partners in the form of lethal and non-lethal systems, this is not enough, Ukraine needs more [support]."
"It is premature to talk about details, but our position, which we will certainly promote, is that even if we support these initiatives, [the support] will not relate to arms supplies, because we have specifically indicated that we will not support arms supplies from the Slovak army depots or from the republic's budget,” he added.
Blanar said Slovakia will continue to assist Ukraine in the humanitarian sphere by supplying mine clearance systems, as well as partnering with Kiev on the implementation of joint civilian projects.
Russia previously issued a statement to NATO over arms supplies to Ukraine, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov saying any cargo containing weapons for the country would become a legitimate target for Russia. The Kremlin said propping up Ukraine with weapons from the West does not contribute to the success of Russia-Ukraine talks.
Lavrov said the United States and NATO are directly involved in the conflict in the Donbass, “not only through supplying weapons, but also by training personnel... in the territory of Great Britain, Germany, Italy, and other countries.”
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico rejected European interference in the Donbass conflict recently, 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 an apparent reference to French President Emmanuel Macron. “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 at the time.
“I refuse to have an iron curtain built between the EU and the Russian Federation,” said Fico in separate remarks previously.