The new Slovak Prime Minister, Robert Fico, announced this Thursday the end of arms shipments from Slovakia to Ukraine and the plan to continue providing “humanitarian and civil aid” to the neighboring country, invaded by Russia more than a year and a half ago. The decision of this pro-Russian politician has been very quick. Fico, 59, took office on Thursday afternoon in a ceremony in Bratislava before the country’s president, Zuzana Caputová, after having declared himself the winner in the elections on September 30.
“We consider aid to Ukraine only as humanitarian and civil aid, we will no longer provide weapons to Ukraine,” Fico declared this Thursday. Slovakia, a member of the EU and NATO, has provided significant military aid to Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022. Fico now argues that Slovakia should mend ties with Russia.
The new prime minister leads a tripartite coalition government with his party, Smer-SSD, which declares itself a social democrat; the Hlas-SD formation, which also defines itself as social democratic, and the far-right Slovak National Party (SNS), with a pro-Russian spirit. Together they have 79 seats in a Parliament of 150 deputies. Both Smer and Hlas were expelled from the European Socialist Party (PES) for allying themselves with the far right.
The populist Robert Fico was already prime minister of Slovakia in two terms (2006-2010 and 2012-2018), and then in the opposition he became more anti-Western and pro-Russian. His return to power portends a turn in foreign policy, as has already been seen with the end of arms shipments to Ukraine. Slovakia is now more aligned with neighboring Hungary, where ultranationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán exhibits similar positions regarding the war and rapprochement with Russia, and maintains tension with Brussels over issues regarding the rule of law.
Before holding elections on October 15, Poland also announced in mid-September that it will cease its arms shipments to Ukraine. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said then that his country would focus “on the modernization and rapid rearmament of the Polish army.” The president of Poland, Andrzej Duda, notified this Thursday that the first session of the new Parliament will be on November 13, which lengthens the time for the liberal opposition Donald Tusk, who has an absolute majority, to try to form a government.
