Robert Fico, the prime minister of Slovakia, declared on Saturday that Ukraine, a neighboring country, was completely under US control and was not a sovereign state.
The populist lawmaker, who opposes both sanctions against Russia and military assistance to the war-torn nation, reaffirmed his opposition to Ukraine’s application to join NATO.
“Ukraine is not an independent and sovereign country,” Fico told public broadcaster RTVS. “Ukraine is under the total influence and control of the United States.”
Slovakia is a member of both NATO and the European Union.
Fico is due to meet his Ukrainian counterpart Denys Shmyhal on Wednesday in the city of Uzhhorod, western Ukraine, on the border with Slovakia.
“I will tell him that I am against the membership of Ukraine in NATO and that I will veto it,” Fico said.
“It would merely be a basis for World War 3, nothing else,” he added.
“I will confirm that he will not receive any weapons as far as the Slovak army and state supplies are concerned,” he added.
Fico also charged that Ukraine was “among the most corrupt countries globally,” stating, “God only knows how much of the aid that is sent to you goes missing somewhere.”
He maintained that the current conflict, which started when Russia invaded over two years ago, has no military resolution. He stated that Ukraine would have to cede some of its land.
“There has to be some kind of compromise, which will be very painful for both sides,” he added. “And what are they waiting for? That the Russians will leave…? It’s unrealistic.”
A 2023 study by the Bratislava-based think group Globsec claims that Slovakia is among the EU’s most pro-Russian nations.
Fico has been critical of Ukraine, but only Hungary blocked the 50 billion euros in help that other EU nations had decided to provide to Kyiv in December of last year.
