As Europe navigates the complexities of a shifting transatlantic order, Slovakia is increasingly charting its own course—one that is pulling it closer to Moscow. Once again, MEP Ľuboš Blaha has travelled to Russia, reinforcing his well-established ties with the Kremlin’s power structure. In his latest visit, he met with Sergei Naryshkin, one of Russia’s most powerful intelligence chiefs and director of the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR). His rhetoric echoed Moscow’s propaganda, blaming the West for the war in Ukraine and celebrating Russia as a ‘heroic nation.’
Blaha’s visit is not an isolated incident but part of a broader pattern of deepening Slovak-Russian relations at the highest levels of government. In December, Prime Minister Robert Fico met personally with Vladimir Putin, and just weeks later, in January, a delegation of high-ranking Slovak officials—connected to Slovakia’s intelligence services—also travelled to Moscow for undisclosed discussions. In a previous visit to Russia in November 2024, Blaha met with Dmitry Medvedev, former Russian president and current deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council. With Fico’s government openly challenging NATO and EU policies, Slovakia’s growing alignment with the Kremlin raises urgent concerns about its future as a reliable Western ally at a time when European unity is more critical than ever.
Standing in front of the headquarters of the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation (SVR) in Yasenevo, in the southern part of Moscow, Ľuboš Blaha, vice-chairman of the ruling SMER party and Member of the European Parliament, reaffirmed Slovakia’s growing ties with Russia. His visit, marked by meetings with high-ranking Kremlin officials and rhetoric echoing Moscow’s propaganda, further distances Slovakia from its NATO and EU allies, reinforcing concerns over the country’s foreign policy direction under Prime Minister Robert Fico’s government.
Blaha met with Sergei Naryshkin, head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) and former chairman of the State Duma, who, according to Blaha, “confirmed that bloodshed in Ukraine could have been avoided, but it was the West that wanted this war.” He also held discussions with Gennady Zyuganov, leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, and Leonid Slutsky, head of the Duma’s foreign affairs committee. Zyuganov, whom Blaha described as a “legend of global leftist politics,” shared his disdain for the EU’s support of Ukraine, while Slutsky praised Slovakia’s willingness to engage with Moscow.
Repeating Kremlin propaganda, Blaha insisted, “This war did not begin in 2022 but in 2014, when the Ukrainian regime massacred Russians in Donbas.” He framed Russia as a “heroic nation that sacrificed itself for us” and claimed the European Union has only two choices: “Either it continues to view Russia as an enemy and arms itself to death, or it accepts Russia as a friend and ensures a future for itself.”
Blaha’s pro-Kremlin stance is neither new nor isolated. In October 2024, he became the first Slovak government politician to visit Russia, and a month later, he met with Dmitry Medvedev at the BRICS summit in Sochi, where he expressed admiration for the former Russian president’s leadership and promoted the concept of “Slavic mutuality.” His rhetoric closely aligns with Moscow’s strategic objective of fracturing Western unity by cultivating sympathetic voices within the EU.
Beyond his diplomatic engagements, Blaha has repeatedly amplified Russian disinformation on nuclear conflict. In November 2024, he accused the United States and NATO of escalating tensions, claiming President Joe Biden committed a “crime against humanity” by allowing Ukraine to use long-range American missiles against Russia. He asserted that NATO had effectively “initiated hostilities against Russia,” reversing the well-established narrative that Moscow launched an unprovoked war against Ukraine. Citing Russia’s updated nuclear doctrine, he warned that Western leaders were “pushing the world towards catastrophe.”
Blaha has also denounced the EU as a “neo-empire” seeking to subjugate smaller nations. In December 2024, during an interview with a pro-Russian Georgian television channel, he accused Brussels of manipulating elections and fostering “Russophobia.” He likened EU policies towards Georgia to the events of Ukraine’s 2014 Maidan revolution, which he described as a Western-engineered coup. In the same interview, he attacked EU-backed LGBTQ+ rights advocacy as “neoliberal extremism” and called foreign-funded NGOs “Western instruments of political interference.”
Blaha’s actions fit into a broader shift in Slovakia’s foreign policy under Robert Fico, who has consistently called for re-engagement with Moscow. Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár has met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov multiple times, signalling that Slovakia is willing to challenge EU and NATO policy by maintaining diplomatic ties with Moscow. This raises serious concerns within the transatlantic alliance, as Slovakia risks undermining collective security efforts aimed at countering Russian aggression.
By engaging directly with high-ranking Kremlin officials, Blaha legitimises Moscow’s geopolitical ambitions at a time when Russia is actively waging war on Ukraine, engaging in hybrid warfare across Europe, and facing international sanctions. His rhetoric, which echoes the Kremlin’s justification for war and its narratives on Western decline, places Slovakia at odds with its allies and fuels divisions within the EU.
As Russia continues its campaign to destabilise European democracies, Slovakia’s increasing engagement with Moscow presents a strategic risk—not only for Slovakia itself but for the broader security and stability of Europe.
