Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico dismissed protesters’ calls for his resignation on Saturday, following massive demonstrations against his government’s policy shift toward Russia.
Around 60,000 people protested in the capital, Bratislava, on Friday, according to organizers, with media reports estimating that approximately 100,000 people participated in rallies across cities nationwide. These protests marked the largest since Fico’s return to power in 2023, as reported by Reuters.
The protests were sparked by Fico’s private trip to Moscow in December to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, a rare meeting for a European Union leader since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
“The government can only be changed through elections,” Fico stated in an interview with the national broadcaster on Saturday, responding to questions about the protests.
Fico’s left-wing-nationalist administration accused progressive opponents this week of planning to escalate protests in an attempt to overthrow the government illegally. Opposition parties and civil groups organizing the protests rejected these accusations.
Citing intelligence sources, Fico claimed—without providing evidence—that an unidentified group of experts in Slovakia had assisted in protests against pro-Russian leaders in Ukraine in 2014 and Georgia last year.
He also stated on Saturday that a list of individuals to be expelled was in preparation, though he offered no further details.
