The Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico, gave a scandalous interview to the host of the Russian propaganda TV channel Russia-1, the odious Olga Skabeeva. This is the first appearance of the head of a European country on the Russian TV channel during the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine.
Points of attention
- Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico's interview with Russian TV host Olga Skabeeva stirred controversy by criticizing the EU and expressing gratitude to the Red Army amidst the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
- Fico's comments on Russian TV included criticism of EU countries for allegedly prolonging the war in Ukraine, doubts about Western sanctions, and controversial views on Ukraine's peace agreements and involvement in pipeline bombings.
- The interview caused backlash from Slovakia's liberal opposition, who accused Fico of serving Putin's agenda instead of addressing domestic issues.
- Fico's statements at a time when the EU discussed Ukraine's situation highlighted his support for European integration while cautioning against provocative actions like Ukraine's NATO membership, which he believed could lead to a Third World War.
- The contrasting views of Fico and his ally Viktor Orbán in dealing with Russia and Ukraine demonstrate divisions within EU member states over the ongoing conflict.
Fico was embarrassed by an interview with Russian propagandists
Skabeeva, who is included in the sanctions list of the EU, the USA and a number of other countries, published excerpts from the interview in Telegram.
They are also published by Slovak media, noting that Fico became the first sitting head of state or government of an EU country to speak on Russian TV after the start of the large-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Later, the interview was broadcast on Skabeeva's program "60 Minutes" on the TV channel "Russia-1".
In his speech, the Slovak prime minister criticized the EU countries, many of which are Slovakia's allies in NATO, saying that their support for Ukraine allegedly only prolongs the war.
He also defended other theses advanced by the Russian authorities — that Ukraine abandoned the peace agreements in Istanbul under Western pressure; that Western sanctions against Russia "do not work".
Among other things, Fitso expressed doubts about the version that the private initiative of some citizens of Ukraine was behind the blowing up of the Nord Stream gas pipelines, hinting at the alleged involvement of special services in this.
Fitso noted that he would gladly come to Moscow for the 80th anniversary of the Victory and express his gratitude to the Red Army.
At the same time, he did not criticize Russia's actions, but attacked the West for allegedly seeking to bring Russia to its knees, rather than achieving peace. "From the first day, I say: let's force Russia, Ukraine and the USA to start negotiations," said the Slovak prime minister.
Fico has spoken with similar theses before, his rhetoric regarding the war in Ukraine sometimes coincides with the rhetoric of his ally, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. At the same time, Orban, who came to Moscow and met with Putin, did not appear on Russian TV.
Slovakia's liberal opposition has already criticized the prime minister for the interview, saying Fico has time to "serve Putin" but not to deal with Slovakia's problems.
Fiсo scares the world with apocalyptic predictions about Ukraine
Speaking after the EU summit in Brussels, where the situation in Ukraine was discussed, Fico emphasized his support for the European integration of Ukraine.
However, in his opinion, membership in NATO, which is one of the points of Zelensky's Victory Plan, can provoke the Third World War.
According to him, this is a controversial plan, which is why the European Council did not take a clear position on it.
The head of the Slovak government said that he does not like proposals that, in his opinion, provoke open debate, such as Ukraine's accession to NATO or the supply of medium-range missiles capable of hitting targets on Russian territory.
