Protesters gathered in Bratislava and other Slovak cities on Friday to rally against the government’s drive to seek closer ties with Russia despite its invasion of Ukraine.
Slovak nationalist Prime Minister Robert Fico is one of the Kremlin’s few allies within the European Union who has drawn Bratislava closer to Moscow since returning to power in 2023.
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He recently travelled to Moscow to secure gas supplies for his country’s consumption, following Ukraine’s decision to turn off the taps that kept Russian gas flowing via its territory to Europe.
Thousands massed in a central square in Bratislava on Friday, chanting “We are Europe”, “We are ashamed of Fico” and “We will not give up on Slovakia”.
Language teacher Vladislav Kmec, 49, told AFP he was worried about Slovakia’s future.
“It is not going well. Ideally, I would like to see this government out of power and early elections,” he said.
Another protester, Daniela Kralikova, told AFP: “Turning to the East is a huge step backwards.”
“The direction of our country is unacceptable... I am a person who believes in progress and I disagree with the return to the past,” the 26-year-old, who works as a conference organiser, said.
The Peace for Ukraine initiative said on Facebook it organised the “Slovakia is Europe” rallies to show that Slovakia “is not Russia (but) a sovereign democratic country”.
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Media reported protests in about a dozen Slovak cities.
Co-organizer Lucia Stasselova told AFP that the government was “dragging Slovakia into the Russian sphere of influence and trying to sever our ties with our alliances, preferring good relations with Russia”.
Until a peaceful split in 1993, Slovakia and the Czech Republic formed Czechoslovakia, which had spent four decades under a totalitarian Communist government steered by Moscow in 1948-1989.
Fico said in parliament on Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he met, had guaranteed gas supplies for Slovakia, describing Moscow as a reliable supplier.
Europe still gets Russian gas via the TurkStream pipeline, as well as liquefied natural gas transported by ships.
Fico discontinued military aid to Ukraine when he took over from a center-right government in October 2023.
In retaliation for Kyiv’s decision to cut the gas supplies, he has threatened to stop electricity supplies and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
He said Slovakia might also curb aid for Ukrainian war refugees staying in the country.
Fico has said Slovakia is ready to host peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. Kyiv says this is playing into the hands of Putin.
The Russian leader has called it “acceptable” for Slovakia, a NATO member, to become a “platform” for dialogue over the conflict, which US President-elect Donald Trump has said he could end after he takes office in January.
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