Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico eventually signed an EU summit resolution on the collective defence of Ukraine on March 6, despite earlier threats to block it. 

In days before his departure for Brussels, Fico repeated his statements threatening to block the EU summit unless the summit conclusions contained a provision about the renewal of Russian gas transit through Ukraine.

“I think that a mention about the need to look for a solution to the renewal of gas transit is bearable,” Fico was quoted as saying by the Slovak press agency TASR. He added “if the [summit] conclusions contain such formulation, we don’t have a reason not to support it.”

The summit’s final text contains a general statement calling on “the Commission, Slovakia and Ukraine to intensify efforts to find workable solutions to the issue of gas transit” and reflects “concerns expressed by Slovakia”.

Fico used the long-signalled end of Russian gas transit through Ukraine to step up his pro-Kremlin rhetoric on which Smer has become increasingly dependent after steering deep into national conservative waters in recent years. He has also loudly applauded Trump’s policies and stressed that Slovakia won’t back Ukraine militarily.

After coming back to power, Fico ended state military support of Ukraine, but did not object to the continuation of commercial military support.

Ahead of the meeting, Slovakia’s opposition tried to grill Fico over his Smer party’s stance on Ukraine after Smer’s deputy chairman and member of the European Parliament Erik Kaliňák said that Slovakia would have a more stable neighbour if Russia conquered Ukraine.

“I wanted to ask him [Fico] at the [parliamentary] committee whether he wishes such a scenario [Ukraine’s occupation], but unfortunately I did not get the chance as Mr. Prime Minister left,” Michal Šimečka, opposition leader and chairman Progressive Slovakia (PS), told media after the morning session at the committee for European affairs, which Fico left for the EU summit held in Brussels.

“It looks as though everything he does he is doing according to the instructions of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin,” added Šimečka.

Kaliňák‘s comments earlier comments on Russian occupation of Ukraine were condemned by Ukrainian diplomats and prompted Slovak President Peter Pellegrini to issue a statement, saying that only the president and the prime minister are the relevant foreign policy actors.

“We create the foreign policy, others are only commenting on it,” Pellegrini told the country’s media, that he “does not take seriously” Kaliňák‘s comments.

“I don’t think that this young man, who is in politics for only a short time, is capable of analysing the situation in the world so he could share his views. And when he says these, it is not necessary to take it seriously and as relevant,” Pellegrini stated.