(MENAFN) Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has accused some European Union leaders of being “tired and bored” of decades of peace, suggesting they are carelessly steering Europe toward a direct military confrontation between NATO and Russia. In an interview published Sunday by his Smer party, Fico criticized the West’s handling of the Ukraine conflict, warning that it endangers global stability.

Fico, who survived an assassination attempt by a pro-Ukraine activist in May, condemned what he sees as a double standard in the EU’s approach to global conflicts. While dozens of nations have supported ceasefire calls in Gaza, no collective EU effort has been made to push for peace in Ukraine, he lamented. He said his own efforts to promote a ceasefire declaration at the European Council were unsuccessful.

“It looks like some European leaders are already weary of 80 years of peace,” he remarked, cautioning that provoking a NATO-Russia clash would be easy—and disastrous. Those who believe such a conflict could be controlled, he said, are making a dangerous miscalculation.

Fico, a vocal critic of Western military aid to Ukraine, ended Slovakia’s weapons support after returning to power in October 2023. “I will not send one bullet,” he vowed, while also denouncing EU sanctions on Russia.

Ahead of a NATO summit in June, Fico suggested Slovakia should consider adopting a neutral stance and reiterated his opposition to Ukraine joining NATO, warning that such a move could lead to “World War III.”

He has also criticized NATO and EU plans to increase defense spending, calling the proposed targets for Slovakia—equivalent to nearly 20% of the national budget—“absolutely absurd.”

Meanwhile, Russia has consistently denounced Western aid to Ukraine as exacerbating the conflict. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov recently described NATO as a “hostile” alliance aggressively expanding militarization in Europe.

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