Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico said this Saturday (the 19th) that some Western politicians are seeking to provoke a direct confrontation between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Russia, following what he described as the failure of the strategy to defeat Moscow through military support to Ukraine. In a video posted on social media, the premier said that Europe faces a “mortal danger” with the possibility of the war widening. Fico did not name any individuals or countries.
“The failure of the strategy to destroy Russia through the war in Ukraine has led some Western politicians to believe that everything must be done to provoke a conflict between NATO and Russia,” Fico stated. According to him, the attempt would occur after it was not possible to achieve this objective through Ukrainian forces and the support provided to Kiev.
The prime minister also stated that the war in Ukraine is “not our war” nor a NATO war. “Some warmongers within NATO are trying, at any cost, to turn this war into a conflict between Russia and NATO,” he said. Fico added that Slovakia will not send troops to a conflict started on what he called an “invented pretext.”
Russia began its large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Slovakia, which borders Ukrainian territory, has been a member of NATO and the European Union since 2004. Since returning to the office of prime minister in 2023, Fico has suspended Slovakia’s state military aid to Kiev, although Slovak companies remain authorized to sell weapons to Ukraine.
This week, Fico had already said that the risk of a broader military conflict in Europe was at the highest level since the war began. The premier also mentioned the possibility of drone incidents leading to discussions about Article 5 of the NATO treaty, which states that an armed attack against a member of the alliance should be considered an attack against all. According to Fico, his objective is to prevent Slovakia from being directly drawn into a confrontation.
The statements come as other European governments have raised alerts about actions attributed to Russia. On Thursday (the 17th), the Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, said, based on information from intelligence services, that Moscow plans drone and missile attacks against countries that support Ukraine, presented as incidents to test NATO’s reaction. Russia did not confirm the accusations.
On Friday (the 18th), French President Emmanuel Macron stated that hybrid threats attributed to Russia against European countries have increased. Macron cited, among the episodes, a drone attack attempt against Leipzig Airport in Germany, in August, attributed to Moscow by the German government. Russia has denied involvement in hybrid operations against European countries.
