The Daily Populous Tuesday October 8th, 2024 morning edition
Authored by politico.eu and submitted by vsv2021

Fico's comments contrast sharply with the stance of Mark Rutte, NATO's new secretary-general, who said Thursday that “Ukraine is closer to NATO than ever before, and will continue on this path until you become a member of our alliance.”

Under NATO’s 1949 founding treaty, decisions on enlargement are made “by unanimous agreement,” meaning that Fico’s opposition to Ukraine joining the alliance could indeed block its membership at least until the end of the Slovak leader’s current term in power in 2027. Other Russia-friendly NATO members could also seek to frustrate Ukraine's membership aspirations.

A similar situation played out after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, when Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO but were blocked by Turkey and Hungary for a year and 10 months. While Turkey objected to the activities of Kurdish activists in Sweden and to restrictions on Western arms exports to Ankara, the reasons for Hungary’s resistance were never made explicit. Stockholm and Helsinki were finally inducted on April 4 this year.

Since winning reelection last fall, Fico has reversed the previous Cabinet's policy of providing materiel support for Ukraine in its war with invading Russian troops, and has instead promised his government will send “not another bullet” while reaching out to Moscow along with authoritarian PM Viktor Orbán of neighboring Hungary.

Mark Rutte, NATO's new secretary-general, said Thursday that “Ukraine is closer to NATO than ever before, and will continue on this path until you become a member of our alliance.” | Anatolii Stepanov/Getty Images

Last Thursday, Fico promised to “do everything possible for the renewal of economic and standard relations with Russia.”

Following his Sunday talk show performance, Fico doubled down on that vow, proposing to visit Moscow next May for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, “as long as I'm invited.”

Speaking at a ceremony to mark the Oct. 6, 1944 arrival of troops from the former Soviet Union at rugged Dukla Pass near Slovakia's border with Poland, Fico went on to stress that Russian sacrifices had helped liberate Slovakia from Nazi rule.

“Freedom came from the East,” he said, “and absolutely nothing can change this truth.”

LovelehInnit on October 7th, 2024 at 19:26 UTC »

Technically true. Fico is 60 years old. He had coronary angioplasty at age 42 and a double bypass at age 52. His father died unexpectedly at age 56. Fico was shot in the stomach this year. The odds are Fico will die of heart-related causes before Ukraine gets into NATO.

BleuRaider on October 7th, 2024 at 19:02 UTC »

“Freedom came from the East”…

No shit, then subjugation and the mass murder of civilians came 24 years later. How quickly he forgets the blood of his countrymen spilled by the Soviets during their invasion to crush the Prague Spring reforms in 1968. And let’s not forget the Soviet liberators intentionally dragged their feet so the Nazis could be softened up by the national rebellion resulting in thousands of deaths. Then came the Stalinist purges, murder, and forced labor camps that killed even more. Disgusting.

Frequent-Ideal-9724 on October 7th, 2024 at 18:18 UTC »

That’s such a weird statement, without any reasonable explanation too.