Slovakia to halt military aid to Ukraine: Premier

By Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - Slovakia's new Prime Minister Robert Fico said Thursday that his government will stop military aid to Ukraine, according to Slovak news website Aktuality.

“I will support zero military aid to Ukraine,” said Fico, who leads the pro-Russian SMER-SD party.

“An immediate halt to military operations is the best solution we have for Ukraine. The EU should change from an arms supplier to a peacemaker,” he said, repeating election campaign promises.

Fico opposes Western sanctions on Moscow and wants the EU to force peace talks.

"I will not vote for any sanctions against Russia unless we see analyses of their impact on Slovakia," he said.

Fico will participate in the European Summit on Thursday and Friday in Brussels where recent developments regarding Ukraine will be discussed.

''Better let them engage in peace negotiations for 10 years than to see them engage in a decade of conflict with no resolution,'' he Fico, indicating his preference for diplomatic efforts.

Fico's remarks came one day after President Zuzana Caputova approved a new three-party coalition government.

Fico's leftist SMER party won elections in September on a promise to end military aid to Ukraine, stop immigration and defend Slovakian sovereignty.

It marked the third time he took the office of prime minister.

Fico is the chairman of the SMER party, part of a three-party coalition government that includes the Hlas party and Slovak National Party.