When the intergovernmental commission of the Slovak and Russian governments last met in November 2021, representatives on the Slovak side could hardly have guessed that it would not be convened again for another five years. The launch of the full-scale Russian invasion brought joint talks to a halt, yet the goals of Fico's government to break the international isolation of Putin's regime are now being fulfilled without disguise.
Relations between Russia and Slovakia have been warming in recent months. Proof of this lies in the latest transfers of military attachés and a meeting of the intergovernmental commission scheduled to take place in Moscow at the end of October. In both cases, these represent the fulfilment of promises made during a previous meeting between Prime Minister Fico and Vladimir Putin.
A pair of Slovak Armed Forces personnel have already travelled to Moscow, whilst the arrival of Russian military attaché Maxim Verezhan is still awaited. Verezhan previously served in the same position at the Russian embassy in Rome, from where he withdrew to serve in the navy. It should also not go unnoticed that although Verezhan has received approval from the Slovak side, his name is still missing from the list of officially accredited military attachés.
During his predecessor's tenure, a scandal erupted in Slovakia over the recruitment of Bohuš Garbár, a contributor to the disinformation website Hlavné správy. After breaching the terms of his suspended sentence, Garbár was sent behind bars to serve an eighteen-month prison term. The mastermind of the entire plan, Sergei Solomasov, was expelled from the country. The coming months will show whether his successor will carry out his duties in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
However, the deepening of cooperation extends beyond military diplomacy to areas such as the economy and culture. The commission's activities will also be resumed after five years. Juraj Blanár argues that through these talks, he is fulfilling Slovakia's strategy of a "foreign policy oriented towards all four points of the compass". The Slovak government also intends to meet with the Ukrainian government, though this will be preceded by the meeting in Moscow. Thanks to a document obtained by the news outlet Politico, we know that the Russian side is not merely interested in discussing oil and natural gas supplies. Key topics on the agenda also include the creation of working groups focusing on tourism, culture, and environmental protection.
The resumed talks come as no surprise; following Viktor Orbán's crushing defeat in the Hungarian elections in April of this year, Robert Fico remains the only European politician leaning towards the Russian president. Alongside Hungary and the Czech Republic, he previously refused to guarantee a €90 billion loan to Ukraine, flies regularly to Moscow, and refused to join the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, from which Slovakia is the only absent European Union member state.
Are we still talking about pragmatic politics? One cannot help but conclude that since the news of the resumed talks was made public, a certain degree of cynicism has been inherent in the whole affair. The mere fact that the Slovak Minister of Foreign Affairs informed the public on the eve of the August anniversary of the Warsaw Pact invasion gives pause for thought. Although the negotiations may not yield a major breakthrough, the symbolism is obvious: Vladimir Putin holds an ally in his grasp who can help him undermine the cohesion of both the European Union and NATO. Ultimately, the loss of Viktor Orbán may mean nothing to him, as he has found a new loyal servant willing to go much further than his predecessor.
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