Fico says he refuses to defend allies under NATO's Article 5

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, speaking to students and hospital staff in Prešov, said he is not willing to fulfill the collective-defense obligations under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty should Russia attack a NATO member country.

Throughout his remarks, Fico did not once refer to Russia as an aggressor state or as a source of military threat to Europe. Instead, he accused European leaders of "warmongering rhetoric" and claimed he did not understand who exactly the alliance was supposed to be defending against. He suggested that talk of fighting was being used to distract from an inability to solve problems such as illegal migration, competitiveness, and high energy prices.

Fico also publicly stated he did not want Slovakia drawn into a military conflict because of Article 5, which could mean sending thousands of soldiers to fight without knowing against whom or why. He pledged that as prime minister he would do everything possible to keep Slovakia out of any military conflict.

A consistent record on Ukraine

Since returning to the premiership in autumn 2023, Fico has halted military aid to Ukraine and repeatedly made anti-Ukrainian statements that justify Russia's invasion. Through 2024 and 2025 he systematically opposed Ukraine's NATO membership, threatening to veto the process on the grounds that it would supposedly lead directly to a third world war. In June 2026, ahead of the NATO summit in Ankara, he also came out firmly against further large-scale financial and military support for Ukraine.