Fico: NATO Summit Won't Bind Slovakia to Fund Ukraine Military Aid

Bratislava, 3 July (TASR) - The conclusions of the planned NATO summit in Ankara will not create any obligation for Slovakia to participate in a financial mechanism intended to provide military support to Ukraine, Prime Minister Robert Fico declared on Friday. In an exchange of letters with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Fico confirmed to TASR that Slovakia will not be bound by any such commitment. Fico said the Slovak government believes the conflict in Ukraine has no military solution. "Once again, there is a proposal to adopt a political declaration on a further €70 billion in support for Ukraine in its war against Russia," claimed the prime minister. He added that Slovakia remained ready to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and continue the mechanism of joint sessions between the Slovak and Ukrainian governments. However, Slovakia will not take part in any financial mechanism for military support to Ukraine. In a letter to Rutte dated 1 July, Fico said he believed "there will be no misunderstandings with respect to the conclusions of the NATO summit in Ankara and that the sovereign position of the Slovak government will be fully respected". In his reply of 2 July, Rutte said the summit declaration will be a political and strategic statement agreed by all 32 allied leaders. "The summit declaration will in no way predetermine the sovereign decisions of individual Allies — including your country — regarding support for Ukraine," the NATO Secretary General wrote. Fico added that while he could not prevent Germany or France from granting Ukraine a loan if they chose to do so, Slovakia will not join such an initiative, just as it had not participated in the €90 billion European Union loan for Ukraine. "No obligation for any individual member state can be inferred from the summit conclusions. Therefore, just as was the case with the European Union loan, the same will apply to any commitment that a group of NATO member states may decide to undertake," Fico said. mf