In a speech to students, Fico warned that the danger of a pan-European war is greater than ever. But he did not attribute responsibility for this to Russian President Putin. His words provoked criticism at home and abroad.
The distance from Prešov in eastern Slovakia to the Ukrainian border is less than 100 kilometers. But listening to Robert Fico's speech, which he gave there recently to students, one might be left with the impression that for the Slovak Prime Minister, Russia seems even closer to Slovakia. In it, Fico warned that the danger of a pan-European war is greater than ever. However, he does not attribute the responsibility for this to Russian President Vladimir Putin, but rather to the alleged bellicose rhetoric in Europe.
"I do not want Slovakia to be drawn into an armed conflict because of some Article 5. Yes, we are in NATO. We value that. Cooperation and compliance with commitments are important to us, but as prime minister I will do everything in my power to ensure that Slovakia is never drawn into an armed conflict," German public broadcaster ARD quoted the Slovak prime minister as saying.
Fico said that he would not send Slovak soldiers on combat missions under "fabricated" pretext. The obligation of mutual assistance enshrined in Article 5 of the NATO Treaty also provides for other ways of providing assistance to attacked countries, he added.
After the election victory of "Alternative for Germany" in Saxony-Anhalt, the Slovak prime minister said he hoped the ruling parties in Berlin would not start a war with Russia to distract from their defeat.
Criticism also from the Czech Republic
The Slovak opposition is outraged - it described Fico's rhetoric as – "extremely serious statements". Zuzana Mesterová from the "Progressive Slovakia" party even called for "Fico to immediately go to our partners and give explanations behind closed doors". With such logic, Slovakia would not be able to count on any help in the event of a crisis, she stressed.
The president of neighboring Czechia is worried: former NATO general Petr Pavel believes that anyone who speaks in this way does not understand the essence of solidarity.
Slovak President Peter Pellegrini – Fico's ally - is cautiously different. "I interpret this as a call not to provoke Russia, so as not to lead to an attack on a NATO partner and not to have to send troops."
Since his return to politics three years ago, Fico has been busy spreading Kremlin propaganda and demonstrating provocative behavior. In May, he visited Moscow for the second time to attend the celebrations marking the end of World War II, where he was the only head of government from the EU. Small Slovakia remains dependent on Russian raw materials, ARD recalls in this regard.
"One of the largest ammunition producers in NATO"
Fico did not attend the founding meeting of the so-called "Carpathian Eight" in Ukraine last week - due to health reasons. ARD also recalls that he stopped state military aid to Kiev, but despite this, private arms supplies are booming, with some companies having partial state participation.
Publicist Eduard Chmelar describes Fico's call for more diplomacy as hypocritical. "Who developed Slovakia's arms industry? Robert Fico. Under his predecessors, arms exports amounted to just over 100 million euros. And in 2025, arms worth 2.5 billion euros were exported. Today, Slovakia is one of the largest ammunition producers in NATO," Chmelar points out.
Russia definitely perceives Slovakia's arms production as a provocation, adds security expert Radovan Branik, quoted by ARD. "What Fico also doesn't mention is that we already have 155 Slovak soldiers stationed in Latvia, and another 100 will defend NATO's eastern flank against Russia in Poland and Romania." Fico is communicating more with his voters than with reality, Branik adds.
In the parliamentary elections in a year, Fico will have to tremble for his fragile majority, the German public media also writes.