Slovakia says Russia interfered in vote won by Ukraine sceptic

“THE US DOES NOT TAKE SIDES” 

In reaction to Slovakia’s claims about Russian interference, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Washington is “in close contact with our Slovak counterparts about them”.

“The United States does not take sides in foreign elections,” Miller added, saying the US will “continue to work together with the government chosen by the Slovak people”.

Earlier in the day Slovakia’s liberal president Zuzana Caputova tasked Fico with forming a new government, stressing the need “to respect the result of democratic elections”.

“I understand that the election results are associated with various concerns for many people,” Caputova said.

Fico’s party won 42 seats in the 150-member parliament – and must now find coalition partners to form a majority government.

Hlas-SD, which emerged in 2020 as a breakaway party from Smer, is one potential partner with 27 seats.

Under Slovakia’s constitution, there is no deadline for forming a new government.

But the president is required to call the first session of parliament within 30 days of the official election results being published.

“TOO EARLY TO SAY”

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Fico said “Slovakia and the people in Slovakia have bigger problems than (dealing with) Ukraine”.

He added that Ukraine is “a huge tragedy for all” and called for peace talks as “further killing will not help anyone”.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Monday that Kyiv respects the “choice of the Slovak people”.

He said it was “too early to say how the election result will affect Slovakia’s position,” adding that Kyiv can “draw the first conclusions” after a coalition is formed in Slovakia.

Fico previously called for “good relations with every country in the world, including the Russian Federation”.

But on Monday, the Kremlin rejected a characterisation of the Smer-SD party as pro-Russian.

“We are facing a situation in which any politician who is inclined to think about the sovereignty of his country and defends the interests of his country, is considered pro-Russian. This is absurd,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Analysts have said a Fico government could radically change Slovakia’s foreign policy to resemble that of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Orban himself congratulated Fico on X, formerly Twitter, “on his undisputable victory at the Slovak parliamentary elections”.

“Always good to work together with a patriot. Looking forward to it!” Orban wrote on Sunday.