Slovakia’s new PM decides to discontinue military aid to Ukraine
Date
10/26/2023 9:00:58 AM
(MENAFN) Slovakia's newly appointed Prime Minister, Robert Fico, has committed to discontinuing military assistance to Ukraine in its conflict with Russia and has emphasized the importance of urging an immediate halt to hostilities. Furthermore, he has stated his reluctance to support additional sanctions against Moscow if they have adverse repercussions for his country.
"As prime minister, I will support zero military aid to Ukraine," Fico declared during a meeting of the parliamentary committee for European affairs on Thursday. He clarified that his government's stance is that "the immediate cessation of military operations is the best solution we have for Ukraine."
Fico insisted that rather than killing each other's citizens in vain, Russia and Ukraine would be better off negotiating peace for the next ten years. Fico asked the EU to change from being “an arms supplier to a peacemaker”.
He also emphasized that the prospect of Russia relinquishing control over its recently annexed regions, such as the Crimean Peninsula, the Donbass republics, and the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, was highly unlikely. He regarded the idea of attempting to pressure a nuclear-armed state with conventional weaponry as unrealistic and naive.
The newly appointed prime minister also declared that, on his forthcoming two-day visit to Brussels, where he will participate in an EU summit addressing the Ukraine conflict, he intends to oppose any suggestions for additional sanctions against Russia put forth by the Baltic nations. His stance is contingent on the condition that a thorough evaluation of the potential negative consequences of such restrictions on Slovakia is provided. “If the sanctions are to be such that they will harm us, then I see no reason to support them," he stated.
Fico, who started office on Wednesday, again restated his belief that the attacks by "Ukrainian fascists on the civilian population of Russian nationality" were ultimately to blame for the crisis in Ukraine.
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