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Will pro-Russian politicians win elections in Slovakia and Ukraine be `turned away`? 0
(Dan Tri) – Before winning the election in Slovakia, the party of Mr. Robert Fico – a politician with an openly pro-Russian attitude – ran with the promise to stop sending weapons to Ukraine and stop imposing more sanctions on Russia.
SMER party leader, Mr. Robert Fico, spoke after the results of Slovakia’s parliamentary election in the capital Bratislava on October 1 (Photo: Reuters).
Mr. Fico’s SMER party won nearly 23% of the votes in the October 1 election, the highest among political parties.
The parties likely to join the new coalition are the left-wing party Hlas (Voice) with 14.7% of the vote and the ultra-nationalist Slovak National party, a group also pro-Russia, which received 5,
The Slovak Progressive Party (PS) – a new liberal, pro-Western party and SMER’s main rival – finished second in the election with 18% of the vote.
`But it’s bad news for Slovakia,` he said.
Worries about arms aid to Ukraine
The victory of Robert Fico, who took a pro-Russian stance during his election campaign, is another sign that Western support for Ukraine is eroding, as the conflict remains unresolved and the front lines
Mr. Fico, 59, said Slovakia has other bigger problems than Ukraine, including energy prices and living costs, but his party will do everything to promote peace talks.
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Results of the Slovak National Assembly election (Graphic: Reuters).
During the election campaign, Mr. Fico pledged to stop supporting neighboring Ukraine in its conflict with Russia.
`We are ready to help the reconstruction of Ukraine, but you know our position on arming the country,` he added at a press conference.
Until now, Slovakia – a country of 5.5 million people – is one of the countries that enthusiastically supports neighboring Ukraine.
Since the start of the conflict, Slovakia has opened its borders to Ukrainian refugees and is a key logistics hub for NATO to deliver military aid to Ukraine.
Slovakia also transferred to Ukraine more than half of the MiG fighter jets in its inventory and dozens of infantry vehicles.
`Such military support will end after the results of the election,` said Wojciech Przybylski, a political analyst and head of the Visegrad Insight think tank.
`And Ukraine and its Western allies will question how much intelligence they can share with Slovakia without risking leaks and endangering shipping routes,` Mr. Przybylski said.
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Ukrainian artillery fired toward Russian troops near the front line in the Donbas region in September (Photo: New York Times).
Mainly with political consequences
According to Politico Europe, the West should not be too worried about Mr. Fico’s announcement to stop providing arms aid to Ukraine.
This is because Slovakia has already given Ukraine everything it can, so the aid flow will not decrease significantly.
Furthermore, because the SMER party does not hold an absolute majority in the National Assembly, it will need the cooperation of other parties during the governing process.
In the past, Mr. Fico has proven himself to be a practical leader, so analysts believe that he will probably moderate his future statements, as well as limit sudden changes in foreign policy, especially
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Hlas (meaning `Voice`), the party of former Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini, may be the party that decides whether Mr. Fico can form a coalition government or not (Photo: AP).
Mr. Fico also promised voters to revive the economy and increase social spending.
However, the election results in Slovakia could still have an impact on the Ukraine conflict.
Right now, Ukraine’s slow counterattack has helped amplify voices in France and other major European countries opposing an unlimited commitment to arming Ukraine.
If Mr. Fico succeeds in forming a government, this will also be another signal that Central Europe is moving away from political liberalism.