Tens of thousands rally in Slovakia against Russian policies of Russia

Tens of thousands of people in nearly 30 cities across Slovakia protested Friday evening to demand the resignation of Nationalist Prime Minister Cabertert Fico.

Organizers said 60,000 people took part in the largest ever rally in the capital Bratislava, where participants voiced their anger at what they saw as pro-Russia political policies.

“Slovakia belongs to Europe. We don’t want to cooperate with Russia,” said Marian Kulich from the Civic Group Mier Ukraine (Peace of Ukraine), which led the protests.

Fico accuses his opponents of spreading lies about the shift in Slovakia’s foreign policy toward Moscow in order to overthrow his government.

“This government will not take steps that are not close to our membership in the European Union and Nato,” he said on Thursday.

But FICO has stopped supplying weapons to Slovakian military cells in Ukraine and has often criticized EU sanctions. He believes the sanctions hurt Slovakia, which depends on Russian gas and oil, more than Moscow.

The anger of critics intensified in late December, when he made a surprise visit to Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. This trip was not well received by Brussels and other Allies in Ukraine.

Fico said the trip focused on Russian gas in Slovakia. He was also confused by the idea that his country could host peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.

Demonstrators who took to the streets on Friday evening were also fueled by FICO’s allegations this week that his opponents were planning a scene, according to a report by the SIS Intelligence Agency.

Fico said the agency was uncovering “properties with links to foreign countries and to the Slovak opposition,” and he said he wanted to allow fat people to see the government buildings they live in.

The opposition accuses him of trying to convey the fear of the failure of his government’s policies and improve his standing.