Slovakia has joined Hungary in opposing Ukraine’s bid to join NATO.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, recovering from an assassination attempt, has publicly stated his opposition to Ukraine’s NATO membership, warning that it would lead to World War III. In a video message released on Thursday, Fico responded to a draft NATO summit communique that reportedly mentioned Ukraine’s “irreversible path” towards joining the alliance.
Fico acknowledged Ukraine’s desire to join NATO but argued that its membership would trigger a global conflict. He further suggested that the world is already dangerously close to war, even without Ukraine’s inclusion, due to the actions of some “advanced democracies.”
Fico instructed Slovakia’s representatives in Washington to insist on two conditions for Ukraine’s eventual membership: Ukraine must meet all of NATO’s requirements, and every member state must agree. He emphasized that his ruling party, Smer, would not support Ukraine’s NATO membership.
Fico’s opposition to Ukrainian NATO membership is consistent with his election campaign platform last year. He won a landslide victory, promising to oppose Ukraine’s NATO accession and further Slovak military aid to Kyiv.
In mid-May, a liberal activist, reportedly angered by Bratislava’s new policy towards Ukraine, attempted to assassinate Fico, shooting him several times. Fico underwent multiple surgeries and spent weeks recovering, only recently returning to work in person.
On Wednesday, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto expressed a similar sentiment, telling reporters in Washington that Ukraine’s NATO membership was “clearly out of the question” as it would “foreshadow direct conflict between Russia and NATO.”
While NATO is expected to pledge at least €40 billion ($43.3 billion) in military aid to Ukraine over the next year and endorse its “full Euro-Atlantic integration,” an invitation to join the alliance will only be extended “when allies agree and conditions are met,” according to a draft communique seen by Reuters. This language echoes the wording used at last year’s summit in Lithuania.