In an interview with RTVS, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said that "the only way to stop Russiaʼs war against Ukraine is to hand over part of Ukraineʼs territory to the invaders."
"There must be some kind of compromise. Why do they [Ukrainians] expect the Russians to leave Crimea, Donbas and Luhansk? This is unreal," said Fico and added that he opposes Ukraineʼs membership in NATO, as it is the "foundation" for the Third World War.
Fico stated that he does not consider Ukraine to be a sovereign state and that Kyiv is controlled by the United States, and he also called the Ukrainian nation "one of the most corrupt in the world."
Oleg Nikolenko, the spokesman of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, responded to this and emphasized that there can be no compromise on the territorial integrity of Ukraine, Slovakia, or any other country.
"Ukraine and its partners are making efforts to remove Russians from Crimea, Donbas and Luhansk, so that they do not go further, in particular to Košice, Pryašiv and other Slovak regions," the spokesman said.
Nikolenko added that without security in Ukraine, there will be no security in Slovakia or in Europe in general.
Who is Robert Fico?
At the end of October 2023, Robert Fico from the pro-Russian party Smer became the new prime minister of Slovakia. After that, the country announced that it would not provide military aid to Ukraine. Already on November 8, the Slovak government did not approve the 14th package of military aid to Ukraine for €40.3 million from the previous government. Almost all important aid packages from the EU before the elections in Slovakia were blocked by Hungary. Now, Slovakia can also follow her path in matters concerning Ukraine and sanctions against Russia. Fico also supported the blocking of €50 billion in aid for Ukraine.
Recently, the Slovak prime minister wrote a column for the media, where he called the Westʼs strategy regarding the Russian-Ukrainian war a "failure" and declared his desire to normalize relations with Russia. According to him, Russia should allegedly receive "security guarantees" regarding Ukraine.
- On Wednesday, January 24, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal will meet with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in Uzhhorod. Denník N writes that Fico is going to a meeting with humanitarian aid, but will tell Shmyhal there that his country will not provide weapons.