Slovakia warns that admitting Ukraine to NATO will trigger World War 3

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico (Photo: Reuters).

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico announced on January 20 that he would block Ukraine's bid to join NATO. He also affirmed that he would maintain his decision to stop supplying weapons to Ukraine.

Mr. Fico made the statement ahead of a visit to Ukraine. The Slovakian Prime Minister stressed that his trip would be purely humanitarian.

"I will tell the Ukrainian side that there are things on which the two sides have completely different views. I will say that Slovakia values Ukraine's desire to join the EU, but they must meet the conditions," he stressed.

However, Mr. Fico affirmed that he would prevent Ukraine from joining NATO, stressing that such a move would only lead to a global disaster due to the possibility of a direct conflict between NATO and Russia.

"I will tell Ukraine that I will veto and block Kiev's attempt to join NATO because that will be exactly the basis for World War III and nothing else," he said.

Before Mr. Fico took office after winning the election in September 2023, Slovakia was one of Kiev's strongest supporters, providing a range of sophisticated weapons, including fighter jets and air defense systems.

New Defense Minister Robert Kalinak admitted earlier this week that the previous government 's move had severely damaged Slovakia's defense posture.

“The previous government left us without air defence systems, without a combat air force and we don’t even have the €700m that was promised, because they transferred it to Ukraine,” Mr Kalinak told the Standard.

Previously, Western countries promised Slovakia to provide Patriot air defense systems in exchange for the S-300, as well as a 700 million euro compensation for a squadron of fighter jets that Slovakia sent to Ukraine. However, both of these promises have not been fulfilled so far.

Minister Kalinak said it could take Slovakia “years” to fix these problems. For example, the new government is unlikely to find a replacement for the S-300 air defense systems that were delivered to Ukraine during its term.

"It is absurd that (then-Defense Minister Jaroslav) Naď took such outrageous actions. After all, we are not the only NATO ally that has the S-300 that Ukraine is interested in. Why didn't Greece supply it? Why didn't Bulgaria supply it? These were outrageous decisions by Mr. Naď and (then-Prime Minister Eduard) Heger," he said.

After taking office, Mr. Fico suspended military aid to Kiev. Previously, he stressed that aid to Ukraine made Slovakia defenseless and only prolonged hostilities.

He has also repeatedly criticized the West's approach to the Ukraine conflict, calling long-term support for Kiev a "useless waste of manpower and money".

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/slovakia-canh-bao-ket-nap-ukraine-vao-nato-se-kich-hoat-the-chien-3-20240121062024821.htm