Slovak military aid to Ukraine halted to avoid risky precedent during change of power
The victory of a pro-Russian party in Slovakia’s parliamentary elections and the new government formation process are behind Bratislava’s decision not to provide Ukraine with a new military aid package, the Ukrainian news outlet European Pravda reported on Oct. 5.
European Pravda cited Jana Kobzova, a foreign policy advisor to the president of the Slovak Republic.
"The current Slovak government, which is outgoing, has constitutionally limited powers. The political parties that are now negotiating the possible formation of the (new) government are opposed to providing military aid to Ukraine."
Military aid package approval by the outgoing government would set a risky precedent for a change of power after future elections, in the view of Slovak President Zuzana Caputova.
"President Caputova has been a strong supporter of such assistance from the very beginning and has been in contact with the government regarding its support, especially after (Ukrainian) President (Volodymyr) Zelenskyy's recent visit to Slovakia in July," Kobzova said, stressing that the military assistance Slovakia provided to Ukraine was the largest the country had ever offered.
On Oct. 1, the pro-Russian Smer-SD party led by Robert Fico won the parliamentary elections in Slovakia with 23.29% of the vote after almost all the ballots were counted.
The second place went to the pro-European liberal party Progressive Slovakia (PS), led by Michal Šimečka, which received 17.07% of the vote.
Fico, after winning the Slovak general election, confirmed his intention to cut off aid to Ukraine.
Later, he proposed to organize peace talks on Ukraine.
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