“He didn't change his tune, he evolved”: what influences the Slovakian Prime Minister's rhetoric towards Ukraine

“He didn't change his tune, he evolved”: what influences the Slovak Prime Minister's rhetoric towards Ukraine Anzhelika Galesevich

Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico is a fairly flexible politician. His statements – perhaps for rubles, and perhaps on his own initiative – often differ from his actions.

He is not so much going to -bank, as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban does. And, as political scientist and international expert Maxim Nesvitaylov noted to Channel 24, Fico doesn't really use his veto power.

How Fico's Rhetoric Is Changing

Recently, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said that he would block Ukraine's accession to NATO as long as he holds office. Formally, the politician has the right to speak out against Ukraine's membership in the military-political bloc. But the North Atlantic Alliance's security guarantees are more than 70% made up of the nuclear umbrella, money, and weapons of the United States.

If Great Britain, Germany, France, and the United States decide on Ukraine's accession to NATO, Fico will, of course, argue. However, he will be put in his place fairly quickly, because Slovakia is dependent on European subsidies and understands that membership in the Alliance provides a huge number of advantages.

Therefore, they will not particularly play with fire. Fico says this because he imagines that this story is not in the near future. Like, “I'll say this now, but time will pass and the situation will change – my opinion will change too.” And it turns out that he didn't change his tune, but evolved in his attitude to this issue, – noted Maksym Nesvitaylov.

It is important to remember that Slovakia provides humanitarian aid to Ukraine and supports Ukrainian refugees. The Slovaks have an interest in the post-war restoration of our state and are already helping with demining.

That is, the country is not standing aside from the Russian-Ukrainian war. But it is trying to avoid positioning itself in relation to Ukraine. Also, it does not greatly strengthen economic cooperation with Russia sectorally, as, for example, Hungary wants.

Interesting! The chairman of the analytical and advocacy organization “Center for Joint Actions” Oleg Rybachuk noted that Fico currently has certain sore points, which is why he has weakened his position. However, he will continue to play along with the Kremlin.