Slovak PM Fico raises neutrality before NATO summit

By Jan Lopatka

(Reuters) -NATO member Slovakia would benefit from neutrality, Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Tuesday, questioning for the first time the central European country's membership in the alliance that is rushing to bolster its deterrence against Russia.

The comment has no near-term practical implications but is the latest in a stream of anti-Western positions Fico has taken since taking office for the fourth time in 2023.

"If you ask me, I tell you that in these nonsensical times of arms buildup, when arms companies are rubbing their hands ... neutrality would benefit Slovakia very much," he told a press conference shown online. 

"But unfortunately, this decision is not in my hands," he said, without giving details. However, any decision by Slovakia to leave NATO would be a complex process that would include a decision by parliament.

Fico was reacting to NATO's plans to boost defence spending.

Fico has been on a collision course with Western partners, taking a pro-Russian stance on the war in Ukraine, and sparring with the European Union over Slovakia's desire to continue importing Russian gas and oil, as well as domestic reforms affecting justice and media.

An ally of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Fico has also floated the idea that the EU may be facing a break-up.

No NATO member has left the alliance since it was founded in 1949.

President Peter Pellegrini - an ally of Fico - called the prime minister's remarks a provocative political play, and pledged not to break consensus at the June 24-25 NATO summit.

Fico's leftist-nationalist government coalition has stopped official state military aid to Kyiv as it battles Russia's invasion, and nurtured ties with Moscow.

'ABSURD, IRRESPONSIBLE, DANGEROUS'

NATO leaders will discuss a gradual spending increase to 5% of gross domestic product, with 3.5% for military spending and 1.5% for infrastructure and similar projects. 

Fico said any defence spending increase should apply to dual military and civilian use, and that he did not understand the need for a quick military buildup.

"Would neutrality suit Slovakia? I am putting this question very officially and clearly," he said. "What war are we talking about? Who are we going to fight with?"

Pellegrini, who will lead Slovakia's delegation to the NATO summit, said the spending increase should spread over at least 10 years, beyond a 2032 deadline being discussed.

Fico's comments on neutrality prompted criticism, including from Fico's coalition partner. The biggest opposition party, Progressive Slovakia, called Fico's comments "absurd, irresponsible, and dangerous."

(Reporting by Jan Lopatka and Jason Hovet in Prague; Editing by Alex Richardson, Susan Fenton and Rod Nickel)