Key Points
- Slovakia's SMER-SSD party secured almost 23 per cent of votes in Saturday's parliamentary poll.
- Its pro-Russian leader Robert Fico has been given the green light to begin coalition talks.
- He hopes to make Slovakia the second EU nation that stops providing aid towards Ukraine.
Slovakia's pro-Russian and anti-liberal election winner Robert Fico was poised on Sunday to start coalition talks to form a government likely to join Hungary in opposing the European Union's military aid for Ukraine.
The 59-year-old former prime minister's SMER-SSD party scored nearly 23 per cent of Saturday's parliamentary poll, earning the president's nod to start talks to replace a technocrat government that has been backing Kyiv against Russia's invasion.
"We are not changing that we are prepared to help Ukraine in a humanitarian way," said Fico, whom analysts consider to be inspired by Hungary's nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban who has frequently clashed with the EU.
"We are prepared to help with the reconstruction of the state but you know our opinion on arming Ukraine," he added at a news conference.
Fico's campaign call of "Not a single round" for neighbouring Ukraine resonated in the nation of 5.5 million.
Slovakia is a member of the NATO military alliance, which is backing Ukraine against Russian President Vladimir Putin, but many of its people are sympathetic to Moscow's line that the West wants to annihilate it.
'Bigger problems' for Slovakia than Ukraine
Fico said Slovakia has bigger problems than the Ukraine issue, including energy prices and living costs, but his party would do everything possible to start peace talks.
Slovakia's liberal Progresivne Slovensko (Progressive Slovakia, PS) party came second in Saturday's vote with almost 18 per cent of votes and wants to stay the course on backing Ukraine.
So Fico may well look to the moderate leftist HLAS (Voice) party, which came third with nearly 15 per cent of votes, as a partner along with the nationalist, pro-Russian Slovak National Party.
Under a government led by Robert Fico (centre) and his SMER-SSD party, NATO member Slovakia would join Hungary in challenging the European Union's consensus on support for Ukraine. Source: EPA / Martin Divisek
HLAS leader Peter Pellegrini has said ammunition supplies to Ukraine are good for Slovakia's defence industry and the party has backed the EU stance against the invasion.
Fico's record of pragmatism may mean he tones down his rhetoric going forward, analysts and diplomats say, especially in a coalition with HLAS.
Slovakia has already donated to Ukraine most of what it could from state reserves - including fighter jets - and Fico has not clarified whether his party would seek to end commercial supplies from the defence industry.
Fico has leaned close to Hungary's leader, Viktor Orban, who congratulated the Slovak politician on his victory with a post on social media platform X on Sunday saying "guess who's back".
"Always good to work together with a patriot. Looking forward to it," Orban said.
