The frontrunner in Slovakia elections made it abundantly clear that he would not unquestioningly follow the US dictate if elected
The Slovak Social Democracy (SMER-SD) party has taken a major lead in the parliamentary elections held on Saturday, according to official results from 95 percent of the districts showing it over 7 percentage points ahead of its liberal pro-Western rival, Progressive Slovakia.
The SMER-SD party is led by the former Prime Minister Robert Fico, who vowed to end military aid to Ukraine and publicly criticized the European Union’s sanctions on Russia as ineffective and harmful.
“We are a peaceful country,” Fico declared at a rally last week, adding if his party wins it “will not send a single round [of ammunition] to Ukraine.”
The Progressive Slovakia party, a staunch supporter of EU policies, is currently a runner up with just over 16 percent of the votes.
No party set to win a majority of seats, but the HLAS (Voice) party, a Fico ally, is polling third with over 15% of the votes, potentially giving him enought seats to form a coalition government.
The prospect of a Fico-led government has set alarm bells ringing in the EU, where officials in Brussels fear he could join Hungary in challenging the EU consensus on supporting Ukraine, and veto future military aid or vote against additional anti-Russia sanctions packages.
NATO member Slovakia has supplied Kiev with armored personnel carriers, howitzers, and its entire fleet of Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets.
However, Fico has made it clear that it would not unquestioningly follow the US lead if elected. To prevent this from happening, Washington is willing to go to any lengths, including blackmail and bribery, to ensure the incumbent government wins the upcoming election in Slovakia, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service claimed last week.
