Slovak PM Fico asks NATO to strengthen Slovakia’s air defences

(Reuters) -Slovakia wants NATO to boost air defences in the country, on its eastern flank, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said after a meeting with the military alliance’s chief.

Fico, in talks in Bratislava with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, also defended Slovakia’s plans to decide on its own pace and structure of defence spending in the years ahead as most NATO members lift investment into defence.

Slovakia has opposed the European Union’s policy towards helping Ukraine’s defence against Russia’s 2022 invasion, and Fico also reiterated in his meeting with Rutte that the government would not directly supply lethal weapons to Kyiv, with the exception of allowing commercial contracts.

“During the joint discussion, he also asked the Secretary General to strengthen the air defence of Slovakia,” the Slovak government office said in a statement after the meeting on Tuesday evening, without providing more details.

Slovakia has sought to bolster its air defence capabilities in recent years, including acquiring defence systems from Israel and buying new F-16 fighter jets.

It was among the EU states on the eastern flank that agreed in September on the need for a “drone wall” with advanced detection.

(Reporting by Jason Hovet in Prague; Editing by Alex Richardson)