– This can lead to an unprecedented escalation, says Ficoaccording to the Kyiv Independent newspaper and the Russian state news agency Tass.
On Sunday, Reuters reported that USAs outgoing president Joe Biden had decided to allow Ukraine to use American weapons for attacks deep inside Russian territory, which they have so far had restrictions on.
The decision has not been officially confirmed by the US authorities.
Now the Slovakian Fico reacts strongly.
– The decision is an obstacle to peace talks in Ukrainehe believes.
Fico has made it clear that his party wants to provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine, but not arms.
Support from Russia
60-year-old Fico leads the pro-Russian populist party Smer-SD.
– Fico has been an obvious one Vladimir Putin-admires over a long period of time. He is trying to appeal to the conservative, pro-Russian part of Slovak society. It is beyond any doubt that he has especially in recent years spread pro-Russian misinformation and become more radical, says NTNU professor and East Europe expert Tobias Schumacher previously stated to Dagsavisen.
Fico was shot and wounded in an assassination attempt at home in Slovakia in May. In the assassination, Fico was hit by five shots, and was operated on several times, but made it to the hooks again.
Fico is supported in his recent US statements by Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin.
– If Western weapons are used for attacks deep inside Russia, it will not be Ukraine that attacks, but the countries that gave them permission, Peskov warned on Monday, according to NTB.
Hoping for Trump action
For several months, Russia has warned the West about how it will interpret such a decision, saying that it will increase the risk of a confrontation with NATO.
– This decision is reckless, dangerous, aimed at a qualitative change and a qualitative increase in how involved the United States is in this conflict, Peskov said further.
He also said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had made Russia’s opinion on the matter clear in September. Putin then said that if the West approved such use of the weapons they provide Ukraine, it would mean that the NATO countries, the United States and European countries became directly involved in the war.
Russian elected representative Marija Butina says, according to NTB, that she hopes US President-elect Donald Trump will reverse the decision when he comes to power in January.
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Facts about Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico
- The 59-year-old Fico started his fourth term as prime minister in October last year. He has participated in political life for over 30 years.
- He has made his mark as a nationalist right-wing leader who balances his support for the EU and NATO with occasional harsh criticism of both organisations.
- Fico is described as a populist who can quickly turn around in line with changes in public opinion and political realities. Among Slovakia’s 5.5 million inhabitants, only a minority believe that Russia is to blame for the Ukraine war.
- During the last four years, Fico has taken positions that run counter to those expressed by allied countries in Europe. He wants to stop military aid to Ukraine, and he opposes sanctions against Russia. He equally condemns the invasion.
- He has threatened to veto future NATO membership for Ukraine.
- Fico is said to have Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban as his role model, a controversial politician who does not hesitate to speak against the EU and NATO.
- Fico has a background from the working class, but took his law degree in 1986. Then he also joined the Communist Party. After the regime change in 1989, he worked as a lawyer in the administration, won a seat in the National Assembly for a renewed Communist Party and represented Slovakia in several cases at the European Court of Human Rights.
- Since 1999, Fico has led the party SMER, which is a social democratic party in name only. A critic of liberal economic reforms, he became prime minister in 2006.
- Fico’s political position was weakened in 2018 when an investigative journalist and his fiancee were killed by a professional killer. Both were investigating corruption at the top of society when they were arrested.
- Large demonstrations against corruption forced Fico to resign after the 2020 election. During the pandemic, he was a strong opponent of vaccines and masks.
- He was re-elected in 2023 with only 29 percent of the vote, thanks to a value-conservative electorate outside the big cities.
(Source: NTB)
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