Slovakia may assume Hungary-like role toward Ukraine after elections — foreign policy expert

Stanislav Zhelikhovskyi, PhD in Political Science, international expert, shared his opinions with Espreso TV.

"The new president of Slovakia is Peter Pellegrini, who is adjusting to Fico. Political forces can unite, as they have somewhat similar ideological foundations of social democracy. Most likely, Pellegrini will do as the prime minister of this country says. Probably, this state will no longer be so friendly towards Ukraine. So we need to be mindful that Slovakia could play the role of a kind of second Hungary, next door to Ukraine. Slovakia may hinder various European Union initiatives and European integration efforts. Slovakia has repeatedly been on the verge of such a policy. Now that Fico has all the power, we can see a more radical policy towards Ukraine and a more loyal policy towards Russia," he said.

Unfortunately, the situation has changed, and there is no other perspective towards Ukraine, Zhelikhovskyi said.

"When the full-scale aggression of Russia against Ukraine began, the official Bratislava did a lot in the context of helping our country, providing various types of weapons, accepting Ukrainians on its territory, etc. Slovakia even supported our European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations. But now the situation may have changed, and there are no other prospects. Moreover, there is a struggle for seats in the European Parliament ahead. In fact, the promises made to the electorate by Robert Fico and Pellegrini will be fulfilled. In fact, this is the paradigm in which this country will be in the near future," the international expert noted.

According to him, among the EU member states, Slovakia's population is the most pro-Russian. Now that Fico and Pellegrini have come to power, speculating and promoting their narratives, the situation is getting worse to some extent.

"This has happened historically. Often, it could be based, for example, on the opposition of Slovaks against Czechs. This is their particular opinion. When there were scandals with Robert Fico, no one supported him, and then the government changed. This provided a suitable opportunity for liberal politicians to lead the country. This lasted until 2023. But as we can see, the situation has changed again, the mood has changed. Politicians such as Fico started to conduct their propaganda and narratives again. The sentiments that were deep in the hearts of the people began to manifest themselves again. Fico promised people a better life, an end to the war. At the same time, he accused us of not wanting to reconcile with Russia, and this has negative consequences for the Slovak economy and other spheres of public life. Fico and Pellegrini began to speculate on this," he added.

• On Saturday, April 6, Slovakia held a second round of presidential elections, in which Parliament Speaker Peter Pellegrini won from Robert Fico's pro-Russian ruling coalition.