Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said in a speech delivered to students and hospital staff in Prešov that he did not intend to fulfil Slovakia’s obligations under Article 5 of the NATO Treaty, nor to participate in the defence of allies in the event of a Russian attack, activenews.ro reports.
Fico accused European leaders of using “warmongering rhetoric” and suggested that he did not see who the alliance was supposed to defend itself against.
“It sometimes seems that there is a tendency to replace the inability to solve problems such as illegal migration, competitiveness and high energy prices with these warmongering conversations: come on, let’s fight. For God’s sake, who do we want to fight? Who?”
The Bratislava leader openly expressed his refusal to implement the collective defence clause of the North Atlantic Treaty, which requires member states to mount a joint military response if one of the allies is attacked.
“Can you imagine, ladies and gentlemen, that Article 5 of the NATO Treaty would be invoked? Can anyone imagine being told: prepare 5,000 or 10,000 soldiers and they will be sent somewhere to fight, without us knowing who we are fighting, why or what for? I do not want Slovakia to be part of any military conflict because of Article 5. As prime minister, I will do everything to ensure that our country is never drawn into an armed confrontation.”
