Fico: Slovakia won’t go to war “because of some Article 5” — Slovak leader says risk of European conflict never greater

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Thursday, ahead of his visit to Ukraine, that the Russia–Ukraine war is “out of control” and that the risk of a conflict across Europe has never been as serious as now.

In a speech in the Slovak city of Prešov, the populist prime minister close to the Kremlin declared he does not want his country drawn into war because of NATO’s Article 5. “I don’t want Slovakia to be part of an armed conflict because of some Article 5,” Fico said, referring to the alliance’s collective-defense clause. He added: “Yes, we are in NATO; we appreciate it… but as prime minister I will do everything I can to keep Slovakia from being dragged into armed conflict.”

Fico, one of the loudest critics of European military support for Ukraine and one of the few NATO leaders to have met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow during the war, accused European capitals of warmongering. He claimed a “justification is being sought for a major conflict between NATO and Russia.”

The comments follow a series of Russian hybrid attacks in Europe and increasingly frequent Russian strikes near Ukraine’s borders with NATO countries. Tensions between the alliance and Moscow have deepened sharply in recent weeks.

Fico, along with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and other European leaders, will travel to Ukraine on September 18 for the inaugural “Carpathian 8” summit in Ivano-Frankivsk, attended by Ukraine, Poland, Slovakia, Czechia, Hungary, Romania, Austria and Serbia.

Source: The Kyiv Independent