On the 19th, Slovak Prime Minister Fico said the Russia-Ukraine war is not
Slovakia’s war and Slovakia should not be drawn into a direct military
confrontation between NATO and Russia. He said parties seeking to provoke a
NATO-Russia military clash should assume responsibility rather than shifting
risk onto other NATO members. Fico called for immediate peace talks, warned
further military escalation would raise European security and economic risks,
and urged a more rational approach to NATO’s Article 5 collective-defense
clause.