Fico: "Why should we go to war because of certain Article 5?" VIDEO

Fico did not once mention Russia as an aggressor state or as a source of a military threat to Europe. Instead, he accused European leaders of using “war rhetoric” and acted as though he did not understand who exactly NATO is supposed to defend itself against.

“It seems... that sometimes there is a tendency to replace the inability to solve problems such as illegal migration, competitiveness and high energy prices with this war talk: let’s go, let’s fight. For God’s sake, who do we want to fight? Against whom?” the Slovak prime minister said during a speech to students and hospital staff in Prešov.

Fico has publicly expressed his unwillingness to fulfill the obligations under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which provides for a collective NATO response in the event of an attack on one of its members.

“Can you imagine, ladies and gentlemen, Article 5 of the NATO Treaty being invoked? Can anyone imagine that? Can anyone imagine being told: prepare 5,000 or 10,000 soldiers, and they will go somewhere to fight? And we will not even know who we are fighting, why or for what reason.

I do not want Slovakia to be part of any military conflict because of some Article 5. As prime minister, I will do everything to ensure that Slovakia is never drawn into a military conflict.”

After returning to office as Slovakia’s prime minister in the autumn of 2023, Robert Fico immediately halted military aid to Ukraine and began regularly making anti-Ukrainian statements while at the same time justifying Russia’s invasion.

Throughout 2024 and 2025, Fico consistently opposed Ukraine’s membership in NATO and threatened to veto the process. He claimed that Ukraine joining NATO would be a direct path to World War III. In June 2026, ahead of the NATO summit in Ankara scheduled for July, Fico strongly opposed further financial and military support for Ukraine.