Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Saturday that “Ukraine is not an independent and sovereign country” but is “under the total control and influence of the United States” and reiterated that his country would not provide it with weapons.
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As a member of NATO, Slovakia is one of the most pro-Russian countries within the European Union.
Mr Fico will meet his Ukrainian counterpart Denys Chmygal on Wednesday in a town on the border between the two countries.
“I will tell him that I am against Ukraine's membership in NATO and will veto it. “That would trigger World War III, nothing more and nothing less,” he told public broadcaster RTVS.
He added that he wanted to confirm to Mr. Chmygal that he “will not receive weapons from the army and the Slovak state.”
He also accused Ukraine of being one of the most corrupt countries in the world: “God only knows where the aid sent to you goes.”
The conflict with Russia, which has been going on for two years, is insoluble from a military point of view and Ukraine will have to cede territory: “There will have to be a compromise that will be very painful for both parts”.
“What are we waiting for? Make the Russians disappear…?” “It's unrealistic,” he said.
According to a 2023 report by the Bratislava-based think tank Globsec, less than half of Slovaks (40%) believe that Russia is responsible for the war in Ukraine.