Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said in an interview with TA3 that Slovak troops would not take part in a conflict with Russia if one of NATO’s member states provoked it.
Fico said Slovakia would respect Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, but would not send its soldiers into a war with Russia under such circumstances.
In his view, a conflict of that kind could not be won with conventional weapons. He also warned that a direct military confrontation could escalate into a nuclear exchange with severe consequences for both sides.
Fico said his priority is to keep Slovakia from being drawn into such a scenario.
The Slovak prime minister had earlier criticized those pushing for further escalation between NATO and Russia. He argued that the conflict in Ukraine is not a war involving the alliance itself, although, in his view, some actors are trying to turn it into a direct confrontation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin previously said that rising NATO military spending is contributing to a new arms race. According to Putin, Western governments use claims of a Russian threat to justify larger defense budgets while also blaming Russia for domestic economic problems.