EGN NEWS DESK
Fico’s feedback distinction sharply with the stance of Mark Rutte, NATO’s new secretary-general, who stated Thursday that “Ukraine is nearer to NATO than ever earlier than, and can proceed on this path till you turn into a member of our alliance.”
Under NATO’s 1949 founding treaty, selections on enlargement are made “by unanimous settlement,” that means that Fico’s opposition to Ukraine becoming a member of the alliance may certainly block its membership at the very least till the top of the Slovak chief’s present time period in energy in 2027. Other Russia-friendly NATO members may additionally search to frustrate Ukraine’s membership aspirations.
An identical state of affairs performed out after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, when Sweden and Finland utilized to affix NATO however have been blocked by Turkey and Hungary for a yr and 10 months. While Turkey objected to the actions of Kurdish activists in Sweden and to restrictions on Western arms exports to Ankara, the explanations for Hungary’s resistance have been by no means made specific. Stockholm and Helsinki have been lastly inducted on April 4 this yr.
Since profitable reelection final fall, Fico has reversed the earlier Cabinet’s coverage of offering materiel help for Ukraine in its conflict with invading Russian troops, and has as an alternative promised his authorities will ship “not one other bullet” whereas reaching out to Moscow together with authoritarian PM Viktor Orbán of neighboring Hungary.
Last Thursday, Fico promised to “do every part attainable for the renewal of financial and normal relations with Russia.”
Following his Sunday discuss present efficiency, Fico doubled down on that vow, proposing to go to Moscow subsequent May for the eightieth anniversary of the top of World War II, “so long as I’m invited.”
Speaking at a ceremony to mark the Oct. 6, 1944 arrival of troops from the previous Soviet Union at rugged Dukla Pass close to Slovakia’s border with Poland, Fico went on to emphasize that Russian sacrifices had helped liberate Slovakia from Nazi rule.
“Freedom got here from the East,” he stated, “and completely nothing can change this fact.”
