Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has spoken out against Bratislava providing financial aid to Ukraine. He made this statement during a broadcast on Slovak radio.
According to him, senior officials are due to discuss the Slovak government’s position on next week’s NATO summit in Ankara.
“I will conduct all negotiations in such a way that the delegation travelling to Ankara will not be able to commit Slovakia to these military loans,” said Fico, as quoted by a number of Slovak media outlets.
The NATO summit is scheduled for 7–8 July in the Turkish capital. According to Politico, NATO allies are expected to pledge billions of dollars in new arms supply contracts and to increase arms production at the summit in Ankara.
The publication reports that in the draft statement, NATO allies also pledge to provide Ukraine with military support amounting to 70 billion euros. As journalists note, one diplomat said that support for Ukraine is likely to be the most contentious point.
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Slovakia has delivered 13 batches of military aid to Kyiv, totalling 671 million euros. In addition, the Slovak side has supplied Ukraine with around ten MiG-29 aircraft.
However, in 2023, after Robert Fico took over as head of the Slovak government, Bratislava ceased providing military aid to Ukraine. At the same time, he stated that the government would not block the supply of weapons and ammunition to Ukraine from private manufacturers.
Fico maintains friendly relations with the Kremlin. Following the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and after coming to power in 2023, he met personally with Russian President Vladimir Putin on several occasions. These visits and talks drew sharp criticism from representatives of the European Union.