"I'm holding my fists for President Trump and President Putin"
Europe should have its own plan to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. This was stated by the Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico, in an exclusive interview given to Izvestia by Peter Marcek, a former member of the Slovak Parliament. According to him, Brussels should create conditions for negotiations, for example, to lift some of the sanctions against Russia. Bratislava continues to put pressure on Kiev to resume gas transit, and this issue should become part of the negotiation process, Fico said. At the same time, Slovakia does not intend to participate in the maintenance of the Ukrainian army in the future, and also opposes Kiev's accession to NATO. About the restoration of ties with the Russian Federation, new sanctions and the danger of the militarization of Europe — in an interview with Robert Fico.
"It is impossible to build a normal, modern and peaceful world without friendly relations with the Russian Federation"
— Mr. Prime Minister, on the eve of the 80th anniversary of the Victory, you expressed your intention to participate in the celebration of Victory Day in Moscow. However, not everyone in Europe unequivocally supports such initiatives. How do you react to the criticism surrounding your decision to visit Moscow on May 9th?
— I remember something like this happened once before. It was in 2014. Then the European Union recommended that we not go to Moscow for the celebrations. I went as Prime Minister together with Czech President Milos Zeman. And we were the only ones from the entire European Union there. I wonder who will go to Moscow this year? Because it's not a question of courage at all, as you know, not a question of whether I want to show myself in public or not, for me it's a manifestation of basic respect and reverence. 80 years later, we will look around and answer the question of who suffered the greatest losses during the Second World War. And there is a definite answer to this question.: These were the former republics of the Soviet Union, the peoples of the Soviet Union, and millions of people.
No one can stop me. The only thing that can stop me is my illness, but I hope that doesn't happen. And so I am very glad that I will have the opportunity — if protocol allows me, of course, because I do not know what will be allowed there — to lay wreaths at the Grave of the Unknown Soldier or at other significant monuments in Moscow on the occasion of the end of World War II. As we know, on December 6, 1941, the active counteroffensive of the Red Army against the German troops began. And this counteroffensive was very successful. Therefore, I would be happy to visit the cities near Moscow where all this was happening.
I will not convince any of my colleagues in the EU. This is my way of thinking, my value system, I have done this all my life here in Slovakia and I will do it as long as I work and participate in public life. And this is not an excuse or an apology. I respect all the victims of the Second World War. I was at the cemetery in Normandy. We must recognize the contribution of Americans in the Pacific and, of course, in opening the second front. I would also like to highlight the contribution of Slovak soldiers, what they have done in the British forces and, most importantly, in the Royal Air Force. I would also love to go there and lay flowers on the graves of our pilots. This is all our historical memory. And if anyone questions the contribution of the former Soviet Union, the Red Army, and the peoples of the former Soviet Union, they will make a huge mistake. I will not make this mistake.
"Anti-Russian fanaticism in Europe no longer has borders"
— This will not be your first trip to Moscow lately. In December 2024, you held talks with Vladimir Putin on gas supplies. How do you assess the results of this visit?
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico (left) during a meeting
— It was a very pleasant visit, if we are talking about a trip to Moscow in December. I was on a private trip, and I am deeply grateful to the administration of the Russian president for giving me the opportunity to meet with him. We talked about a lot at this meeting, but you're right, the main topic of our conversation was gas. However, before that, we also touched on the topic of the truce.
I clearly asked Mr. Putin if it was possible to stop the fighting for a couple of days on the occasion of the European Christmas holidays (I know that the Russian Federation has a different calendar from ours) and show that they are interested in negotiations. And President Putin had very accurate information. He asked me if I didn't remember what the Ukrainian president said at the European Council, who was there and told us right in our eyes that a truce is for the weak, that only weaklings go to a truce. Therefore, many questions need to be looked at a little differently than everyone expects.
I didn't know about it at the time, but if I had known, I would definitely have talked about it with President Putin. Recently, the European Court of Human Rights issued an incredibly important decision concerning Ukraine. In it, he states that Ukraine, as a state, violated human rights when it did not provide any assistance to people in Odessa, where 42 people burned down in the House of Trade Unions. These were pro-Russian people who were attacked by anti-Russian protesters. Therefore, this whole conflict must be viewed in a historical light, in the light of certain events. And I would like to draw attention to this decision of the European Court of Human Rights so that everyone knows what happened in Ukraine in 2014. These events that I am talking about happened on May 2, 2014.
— Slovakia and Russia have many joint projects in various fields. Which of them do you consider the most successful and the most promising for the development of bilateral relations?
— A huge number of ties have been severed because this anti-Russian fanaticism, which is present in Europe, sometimes no longer has borders. And often this led to the fact that cultural, sports projects and many other things were gradually reduced to zero. We will have to rebuild a lot of things. Although I think that the European Union has great prospects in the future, it is impossible to build a normal, modern and peaceful world without friendly relations with the Russian Federation. And I'm doing my best to do that. I always try to find a point of view based on facts, and not on hatred, as I feel around me now. Moreover, I must say that I have always loved Slavs. The opportunities for the development of mutual relations between Russia and Slovakia are enormous. My attitude towards the Russian Federation cannot be calculated in numbers. And that's why I will try to keep us on good terms, even though it's very difficult in today's situation.
"Gas is something for which I could give the Ukrainian president an anti—award"
— Did you manage to find a common language with Kiev after Ukraine stopped gas supplies to Europe?
— Gas is something for which I could give the Ukrainian president an anti—award, because he caused damage to Slovakia, caused damage to the whole of Europe. Of course, this is Ukraine, this is Zelensky, so everything is forgiven. The decision that Ukraine would no longer allow gas to pass through its territory to Europe immediately caused a sharp rise in prices. Our price is much higher than €40 per MWh. The problem is that we cannot be competitive if this gas is significantly cheaper in the United States, as in other regions.
I had a conversation with the President of the Russian Federation, in which it was said that we can rely on our Russian partners regarding gas. Because if we are talking about Slovakia, we have signed a long-term agreement with Gazprom. It allows us to receive a certain amount of gas from the Russian side. This agreement stipulates that it is the responsibility of the Russian side to transport this gas to Slovakia in any way. Therefore, on February 1, this gas went through the Turkish Stream. And I very much welcome the active negotiations that our state-owned company SPP conducted with Gazprom, as a result of which we are now seeing a fairly significant increase in the volume of gas supplies from Russia through the Turkish Stream.
Of course, these are supplies for our domestic market. In Slovakia, we have no reason to fear that we will not have something to heat, there will be no light, or we will not be able to use gas for industrial purposes. But I must say that we have lost a lot of money from transit, and this is the huge fault of the Ukrainian president. In other words, we can consider Russia as a safe and reliable partner in the case of supplies. And today I feel great satisfaction when I hear from German and other companies that we will no longer be able to exist without Russian gas, that without it we cannot guarantee a certain price stability in Europe that would ensure our competitiveness.
There is only one indicator for interest. If we imagine that the total volume of consumption in Europe is about a little over 400 billion cubic meters. — through the pipe that went through Ukraine and Slovakia, only 17-18 billion cubic meters came to Europe, which is a small proportion. However, this small proportion had a major impact on price stability in Europe. That's why I'm glad that they're starting to talk about it more and more. And I really believe that the time will come for negotiations that will not only lead to peace, but also the resumption of Russian gas supplies through Ukraine to Slovakia and then further West. At the same time, I don't quite understand Ukrainians, because today they only hope that the West will give them everything. But Ukraine also needs this pipeline. Although she claims that she has her own gas reserves, which she would like to use not only for domestic needs, but also for export to Europe. But this requires some kind of pipeline. Therefore, I do not understand these attacks on the gas infrastructure. I mean Suju. I'm not even talking about the events with the Nord Stream. This has nothing to do with reality. The conversation with Mr. President Putin was very successful and, most importantly, corresponded to reality.
— Earlier you stated that Bratislava would put pressure on Ukraine to resume gas transit from Russia. Will Slovakia continue to influence Kiev?
— We have achieved great success in this, and it was not easy, because some EU member states were not convinced of the correctness of these steps. The Council of Europe's conclusion states that the EC, Slovakia, and Ukraine should make every possible effort to resume transit. You know that Ukraine has a presidential republic and President Zelensky plays a crucial role there. I think he doesn't really welcome transit through Ukraine to the West. We were reproached that if we buy Russian gas, then we will support the Russian military machine in its fight against Ukraine. And Ukraine bought Russian gas in Europe and paid for it. That is, the country that is at war with Russia paid Russia money for the gas that they received from it.
We must proceed from the fact that Europe needs this transit for the sake of stable prices. Ukraine certainly needs this transit, because it loses 800-900 million euros in transit duties annually. And that's quite a lot of money. Ukraine itself will want to export gas in the western direction. And I am sure that this issue will be discussed at the negotiations, and Russia knows how to do business. This is the moral of Western countries that say: You Slovaks can't transit Russian gas, it's not good. And Russia is now the second largest supplier of liquefied natural gas to Western Europe. That is, I see great hypocrisy on their part here. Therefore, I am confident in the efforts that we are tirelessly making at the European Commission, with which we are negotiating through the relevant commissioner, exerting pressure and insisting. I am glad that there has been an increase in supplies for our domestic consumption through the Turkish Stream. And we need to transit gas. Not only for the sake of our transit duties, which we have lost, but also for the sake of Europe having gas from the east. Then prices can stabilize.
"Ukraine should never join NATO"
— How do you assess Vladimir Putin's direct conversations with American leader Donald Trump? Can we say that Europe, which is not involved in the negotiations, is just adding fuel to the fire?
— I'm holding my fists for President Trump and President Putin to solve the problem of Ukraine as soon as possible. I am very sorry that the mutual extermination of the Slavs is taking place, because this is all in the hands of someone else. This is the whole problem that Ukraine still does not seem to understand that it has been used in this geopolitical struggle. Obviously, President Trump does not recognize the European Union. He prefers bilateral negotiations with big countries such as Spain, France or Germany. And this is probably the reason why he is not thrilled that the EU will be sitting at the negotiating table.
But there is a second point that is even more important. I understand that one may be a little unhappy with the statements of the new American administration that they will no longer be responsible for the security of Europe. And this forces us in Europe to think about how we can increase our defense capability. But what is happening is not an increase in defense capability. This is 800 billion euros planned for European armament. And we have to ask ourselves the question, what kind of war, my God, are we preparing for? Who do we want to face off against? What do we want to get into? Therefore, I will be very open in these matters and will ask: okay, but at what cost will it be? At the expense of people's standard of living? How will we find these 800 billion? Don't countries need to set their own goals when it comes to increasing their defense capabilities?
So let's focus on the negotiations between the United States and the Russian Federation. Naturally, with the inclusion of Ukraine, because without it it is unrealistic to come to peace as soon as possible. I am also interested in this from the point of view of resuming economic relations with the Russian Federation. From the very beginning of the conflict, I have been saying that one day we must bring relations with the Russian Federation back to normal. German and American companies are already saying that they are interested in resuming contacts with this country. We are interested in gas transit and energy supplies from Russia.
Therefore, I am very nervous about these weapons of the European Union. And, in my opinion, we can ask the Slovak society about this. Listen, do you agree with this? Is everything correct? So should it be that we are currently paying 2% of GDP, and we will have to pay 3-4-5%? How will our country's security improve if we have three more planes? Therefore, the further I go, the more nervous I react to it. It would probably be right to rely on people's opinions and ask: Tell me, what do you think about it? Because, you know, sometimes I come to negotiations, I say something, and I get an answer.: you are a small country, so sit quietly, and we, the big countries, will tell you how it will be. This is the road to hell.
— How do you assess the steps taken by French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to create a "coalition of the willing"? Are France, Germany or the EU trying to force Slovakia to participate in such formats?
— The Slovak Republic will not give any money or any free weapons to Ukraine. Similarly, we have no interest in sending military personnel to Ukraine. We don't want to have anything to do with it. If Slovak soldiers have to participate somewhere, they can do it in international missions. All this is very dangerous, because the countries that are members of NATO and which are neighboring Ukraine should not participate in such actions and send military formations to the territory of Ukraine. This causes a lot of problems.
I think Ukraine should never join NATO. I cannot prevent Ukrainian politicians from expressing their wishes. Each country chooses its own path. But if Ukrainians say now that they want to join NATO, we must respect this desire, but this does not mean that they will be accepted there. Because Ukraine's membership in the alliance poses a danger to the whole world that we cannot even imagine. Today, the big players in the EU are wondering what could be the best guarantee of security for Ukraine. And the further they go, the more they come to the idea that this is possible only if Ukraine has a well-provided, well-paid and well-armed army of hundreds of thousands of soldiers.
But Ukraine will not be able to do this. Does this mean that Europe is preparing to maintain an entire army in Ukraine? The Slovak Republic wants absolutely nothing to do with this. There are big countries here that call themselves "willing," which are ready to give money and people, and even support, perhaps, this Ukrainian army. And they look at this issue differently. They would even welcome Ukraine to NATO. And there are other countries, but there aren't many of them, to be honest, there aren't many of them.
And in this case, we should just say that Slovakia belongs to those countries that believe that there should be no NATO membership for Ukraine. And security guarantees for Ukraine should look completely different from what this group of "willing countries", which so strongly support EU armaments, presents to us today.
"Both the American and Russian sides are skeptical about the European Union"
— What is Slovakia's position on military initiatives within the framework of the European Union and NATO? Are the voices of Slovakia and other dissenting EU countries heard?
— I recognize that there should be a certain measure to increase defense capability if the United States leaves the European continent. This is a topic that can cause partners like the United States to feel that Europe does not want the conflict in Ukraine to end. And Europe itself, that is, some European countries say: let's take full responsibility for financing the war in Ukraine, send soldiers there, they need more weapons and everything else. Are you negotiating for peace and want peace, but do you want your partner to talk about war? Because the EU is talking about war, and now they have returned to the rhetoric of peace only because peace negotiations have begun. If it weren't for them, the word "peace" would be banned within the European Union.
Therefore, both the American and Russian sides are probably skeptical about the EU. Europe should have its own peace plan. Europe, with its resources, should not have looked at the Biden administration, what Biden wants or does not want in Ukraine, it should have acted from the very beginning. And she should have influenced Russia and Ukraine from the very beginning: let's negotiate, look for some kind of peace plan that would suit everyone. Europe has a bad image now. I'm a little shocked by this. Everyone will tell me: This is a region that has enjoyed great freedom for 80 years, where there was a fantastic life, and now people are living great lives there. And then suddenly we have some hawks who are thinking how to buy more missiles, build more planes and confront someone. Europe should not have embarked on this path.
— How do you assess the EU's rearmament program proposed by Ursula von der Leyen? Does Slovakia plan to increase its spending under this program?
— If we were really talking about a reaction to the decrease in the presence of American troops and to the words that we must ensure our own security, then it would be good to discuss this. But I have a feeling that someone is thinking about something completely different again, as if they are preparing for some new war. Which is extremely dangerous. Therefore, I will add a rational grain to this.
The Slovak Republic cannot buy rockets to the detriment of people and their standard of living. I also said this in Slavin, which is good, let's buy three more missiles or three more fighters, but then let those who force us to buy it go to eastern Slovakia and explain to people themselves that you will have no running water or sewerage, because we had to buy There are two more missiles that we don't know yet who we're going to drop them on.
The Slovak army needs modernization. Almost everything that was in working order was transferred to Ukraine by the previous government. And I won't reveal a secret if I say that even our nuclear power plants are not protected today, because the air defense system, MIG-29 aircraft, and a huge amount of weapons and ammunition were transferred free of charge by the previous government to Ukraine.
"The EU has not demonstrated any counter approach towards Russia"
— You have criticized the sanctions against Russia many times and called them ineffective and harmful to the European economy. What arguments do you give to your European colleagues in favor of their abolition?
— Take Cuba, for example. I feel very sorry for her, this is a country that has done no harm to anyone, and just because it exists and has survived, it is the subject of sanctions programs. If you impose any sanctions on a small country, you will create great difficulties for people. But Russia is a different entity. Imposing sanctions on the Russian Federation does not mean that this country will kneel. If you know Russians at least a little, you know that they are extremely resourceful and know how to get out of different situations.
We have expert opinions on this issue that the sanctions measures have even increased the self-sufficiency of the Russian Federation in some aspects. In other words, Russia had revenues from the sale of raw materials, and it bought technologies abroad, and then was forced to focus on the production of these technologies at home. Perhaps someone will say that its technologies are not as good and not as high-quality as those produced in other places, where they have been made for 50 years, but they fulfill their purpose.
In other words, sanctions can only anger the other side, but they cannot bring it to its knees. After a long time, I visited Moscow in December 2024, and I did not feel that there was anything missing in the city. I understand that the capital always looks different from the rest of the country. But if you look at the people, the restaurants, the shops, it's obvious that the country is living its normal life. We have made a fundamental decision that whenever any sanctions are imposed, we need to look at where all the borders are really crossing. We have Russian-made reactors in Slovakia and, of course, we are talking about fuel for them. And if someone had come and said, "Let's impose sanctions on them and stop them!" then, of course, we probably would have said, "Don't go crazy! That's enough!"
Some of the sanctions have damaged the Slovak industry, because it was about dual-use goods. For example, construction equipment with an excavator bucket, which can be used for both civilian and military purposes. And this, for example, has been affected by sanctions, and this creates problems. Therefore, we think that sanctions as such do not work, but on the contrary, lead to the fact that the other side is even more angry. We have now taken a significant step towards personal sanctions. Of course, you know that there is a list in which more than 2,000 individuals and legal entities from Russia who are under sanctions cannot travel to Europe, their assets are frozen. And we are cooperating with Hungary — we need to thank them, I think they see this situation the same way we see it — we seem to have excluded three people from this sanctions list. And I assume that this will continue gradually.
We want to create a good atmosphere for peaceful negotiations, and each side must take some step. A prisoner exchange is a very good step. And, of course, such a step forward would be the lifting of some sanctions in order to create space for further peaceful negotiations. I don't believe in sanctions.
— The European Union is preparing the 17th package of restrictions on Russia, despite the dialogue that the United States and Russia are currently conducting about Ukraine. Can Bratislava block the new package?
— It takes unanimity to impose sanctions, this is a complicated procedure within the EU. Many of us have said that we will follow the progress of the peace talks and ask ourselves: what does it matter now to impose new sanctions if we are on the way to peace talks? So let's wait for the next stage, we'll see in a few months. Believe me, I am not one of those people for whom it is a problem to veto any decision. For example, there was already a proposal on the table from the EU High Representative for International Relations that we should quickly chip in from government budgets to Ukraine and raise €40 billion. And each country has to give some money from its state budget. So I openly said right away that I see absolutely no reason for Slovakia to send money for weapons to Ukraine. Therefore, yes, there are issues where I will undoubtedly use my veto power. But at the same time, I want to be a significant collective player.
Each country can express its disagreement with the sanctions and thus block these sanctions. The first thing we will study, as I said, is the extent to which these sanctions harm our own interests. Because sometimes we think that we are the smartest. In Europe, we are inventing sanctions against another country, but in fact, they concern us more than the country against which they are directed. But first of all, we need to keep a very close eye on what stage of the peace negotiations we are at and whether the adoption of the 17th package may become counterproductive or productive.
We, too, in the EU, must demonstrate some kind of reciprocal approach. So far, the European Union has not demonstrated any reciprocal approach towards Russia. If the EU wanted to, it would force Ukraine to continue gas transit. Now it seems that the struggle to restore transit through Ukraine seems to concern only me and Viktor Orban, and the rest are afraid of this. The European Union will need to think about whether it wants to be an obstacle to peace negotiations or wants to be a part of them and participate constructively in them.
— How do you manage to conduct a policy on your own, which in some circles is called the alternative course of the EU?
— In Slovakia, I try to pursue a sovereign international policy, which follows from our membership, first of all, in the European Union, in NATO. But we focus on all four sides of the world. That's why I had no doubts when I visited Vietnam, South Korea, Russia, Brazil and many other countries, including the United States. This is the first main thesis that I want to say. Slovakia cannot be towed by someone else. We can respect our obligations, but we want to pursue our own, independent, sovereign international policy. Secondly, it is very important to say that it is necessary to adhere to the principles that many countries have stopped respecting.
Firstly, one should not interfere in the internal affairs of another State. Secondly, it is very important to respect which path a country chooses when it comes to its own internal governance. Sometimes it amuses me when someone starts criticizing China. China is a model of how to create a regime that ensures peace and quiet for 1.5 billion people. In addition, China is a stabilizing element in the region. I always laugh when I imagine what would happen if China had a political system like Slovakia. You know her well. If there were 100 political parties, 20 parties would seek to enter parliament. After all, people would have killed each other in three days. And we're not far from that. Today's political system — and I'm not talking about democracy — I'm just talking about a system in which there are many political parties. Today, this is the main obstacle to the development of the Slovak Republic as such.
— Is the EU discussing the abolition of the principle of unanimity in voting on foreign policy issues? How do you feel about the EU's pressure on Hungary?
— As for international politics, I do not want to leave the European Union. The EU is vital for Slovakia, and membership in it has given us a lot. Anyone who compares how our country has developed recognizes this. But I see two big risks here. The first is that the principle of a single binding opinion has begun to be firmly established in the European Union. If your opinion differs, then at first they tried to ignore you, then isolate you, and today the third stage begins — punishment for a different point of view. Secondly, the EU's huge mistake is that it generally allows a discussion that there will no longer be a single point of view on some fundamental issues of European policy. In other words, all 27 countries had to agree before, and only then did this decision have force and significance. Now, supposedly, there will be enough qualified majority. Then why do we need the European Union? The Germans and the French will make their own decision there. This is not Slovakia's sovereign international policy.
In this sense, I would like to comment on our friends and neighbors in Hungary. Hungary is an independent sovereign country with a rich history, a country with a very special attitude towards us when it comes to our common past, but Viktor Orban and I made a decision and devoted a huge amount of energy to building good relations, and we managed to do it. I will say it very precisely and clearly: if Viktor Orban does in domestic politics what he promised his voters and thanks to which he won the parliamentary elections, no one has the right to criticize him. Everyone knew exactly what they were going to the elections with, why they won them and received this mandate. Secondly, it is a sovereign country. If she has a sovereign view on some issues of international politics, we must respect that. We can try to convince Victor that he should act differently. But it's not! As soon as he says something, everyone immediately wants to punish him for it.
Therefore, I will mention the third point: Slovakia will never agree with the introduction of the rule of qualified majority in matters of international policy in the EU. And this is the most important thing: we will never agree to sanctions being imposed on Hungary because Hungarians have their own sovereign views. I would expect the same from Hungarians and other small countries. If Slovakia was in that position, they would have said, "Don't go crazy!" Surely you won't punish Slovakia for the fact that the Slovak government was against mandatory quotas? I'm talking now about the mandatory quotas for migrants that Slovakia has stopped. Or in other matters. Surely you won't punish Slovakia for refusing to give gifts to Ukraine? It doesn't matter if it's about money or weapons. This is a sovereign legitimate position. Therefore, I would like to call our policy within the European Union a policy of solidarity, but it is very sovereign and it will remain so.
After all, look at our views on history, on the Russian Federation. Isn't it a shame that now the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and the victory over fascism is being celebrated, thousands of young Russian soldiers are lying in Slavin, and the ambassadors of the European Union said they would not come just because the Russian ambassador would be there. And who was supposed to make the speech? The German ambassador? Let's still respect our past and not mix things that cannot be mixed.
"Joining the European Union was very useful for Slovakia"
— In 2024, we celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Slovak Republic's accession to the European Union. What key achievements and challenges could you name during this period?
— Joining the European Union was very useful for Slovakia, and we really appreciate the chance we got. Of course, membership in the union has its drawbacks, but there are still many more advantages. Therefore, if the European Union maintains this mutual solidarity, if it continues to respect other opinions and small sovereign countries, then it will survive. If he takes the short cut and says that he no longer has the nerves to deal with Hungary or Slovakia, and it's better if we introduce qualified majority voting, then the European Union, in my opinion, will die very quickly.
I think we need to pay more attention to protecting our own national interests. And here we are talking about the national interests of individual EU member states and European interests in general. For example, the issue of automobile production, the issue of energy prices.
Let's not firmly believe that the institutions that are currently operating are irreplaceable and untouchable. That the United States of America won't suddenly say, "That's it, we're leaving NATO, we're not going to give so much money anymore." You can see what is happening in other world organizations, the World Health Organization and many others. And we may suddenly have the issue of NATO membership on the table. And what are we going to do about it? Will we create our own security structure within Europe? Let's not believe so much that everything around us is holy and unchangeable. And this also applies to the European Union. Therefore, I highly recommend watching the process of how the EU has developed. Let's keep the values on which it originated. It was a peaceful project, but today it is a military project. Let's protect the treaty of these 27 countries, which is no longer valid today.
— In February, you announced the end of the government crisis in Slovakia. What is the current situation in the government coalition? Is there unity in it? Do you notice any attempts of external interference in the internal affairs of Slovakia?
— The peculiarity of the European continent is that the political systems in our countries are based on the existence of a large number of political parties. And their governments are often in coalition. Governments are based on the cooperation of two, three, four, or five political parties that have held parliamentary elections. And that's why there is such a very precise and ingenious classification, according to which the enemy can be of two types: a mortal enemy or a coalition partner. That is, sometimes it happens in Slovakia that the relations between the coalition partners are very complicated. I will not go into unnecessary details for our foreign audience regarding the problems that we have to solve here. I made absurd political decisions, and I admit it, they were absurd political decisions. These decisions had to be made by my coalition partners.
At the moment, the situation is such that the parliament continues to work and adopts new laws. But I am not a naive child, I have been in politics since 1992, that is, I have been in Slovak politics for 33 years. I have won parliamentary elections five times in a wild political system, and you have to fight dozens of rivals. I don't have any media behind my back. I have created four governments, and this is the fourth time I have been Prime Minister. I will do everything to achieve success in the next elections, and for these elections to be held as planned in 2027. So that my SMER party wins these elections and, if possible, forms the next government.
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