The Slovak Prime Minister, criticized for his positions considered pro-Russian, was accused by the country’s main opposition party of wanting to take Slovakia out of the European Union.
The Slovak Prime Minister *Robert Fico on Thursday accused the opposition of trying to organize a “coup d’état”while demonstrations continue against his positions deemed pro-Russian*.
During his speech to the Slovak Parliament, Robert Fico rejected his opponents’ allegations and reaffirmed his membership in the EU and NATO.
The Prime Minister also declared that his government would take no action to repress protesterswhom he accuses of seeking to provoke a confrontation with the police.
“We see a structure that wants to exploit these meetings and these gatherings for a possible confrontation with the state security forces”he declared, “Some measures even aim to interrupt the ability of the government of the Slovak Republic to do its job”.
“This is an attempt to stage a typical coup in Slovakia, to bring down the government and bring to power those who cannot do so through democratic parliamentary elections.”.
Recently, Robert Fico was accused by his opponents of trying to force the country out of the EU. Tuesday, an opposition attempt to submit a motion of no confidence to the Slovak Parliament failed after elected representatives allied with Robert Fico walked out of the debate.
Reconciliation with Russia
Demonstrations started last December in Slovakia after Robert Fico’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
The Slovak leader also threatened to cut financial aid to more than 130,000 Ukrainian refugees living in Slovakia after Kyiv decided to cut off the delivery of Russian gas to the country through its territory.
Robert Fico was also critical of NATO and the EU, urging Brussels to extend its majority voting system to cover more areas and limit the power of national vetoes.
The leader returned to power last year after his party, Smer, won the legislative elections on the basis of a populist program, notably by ceasing all aid to Ukrainewhich has been defending itself against the Russian invasion for almost three years.
During his term, he pledged to prevent Kyiv from joining NATO and denounced EU sanctions against Russia.
Additional sources • EBU
