NATO Troops Could Threaten the Stability of the Slovak Government and Bring Fico Back

The Slovaks have a long tradition of uncritical Russophilia and a desire not to provoke anyone and to try to get along with everyone.

Central Europe should prepare for the impact of a possible war in Ukraine. One step that would increase security and show the West’s determination to oppose Russian expansionist plans would be the deployment of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) troops in countries that border Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. These countries, unlike in the Baltics, have no reinforcements yet — Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. But the topic of NATO troops stationed in Slovakia has become a topic that is ‘not politically viable’ in recent days, according to some politicians quoted by Slovak DenníkN.

The very idea of foreign troops — which would have to be approved by the Slovak — sparked the first demonstrations and activated the opposition. The latter, led by former Prime Minister Robert Fico, has been protesting for some time against the long negotiated military treaty with the US, a standard instrument of cooperation between NATO allies. The first politician to openly support the arrival of the allies was first Foreign Minister Ivan Korčok. He was joined, quite unexpectedly, by the populist Boris Kollár, speaker of parliament and of the coalition party We Are Family.

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