A party headed by pro-Putin figure Robert Fico, has emerged victorious in the recent Slovakia elections, securing more votes than expected and possibly posing a challenge to NATO-EU unity on Ukraine.

The results of the elections has satisfied Budapest, which saw an ally come to power.

However, it has brought up certain concerns among pro-EU forces due to Fico’s apparent apprehension to support Ukraine, as well as his disagreement of EU decisions in this regard. 

Fico, a two-time former prime minister, now has a chance to regain the job, but must first seek coalition partners, because despite coming out on top with 22.9% of the vote, the SMER-SSD party did not secure a large enough portion of the vote to govern on its own.

Speaking after his victory, Fico said he “will do everything” in his power to stimulate Russia-Ukraine peace talks, saying that “more killing is not going to help anyone.”

However, these negotiations are unlikely to be welcomed in Ukraine, since they are expected to involve proposals in which it would cede territory to Russia.

In fact, Michal Šimečka, the leader of Progressive Slovakia (PS), a liberal and pro-Ukrainian party, said that the election’s result was “bad news,” for Slovakia, adding that “it will be even worse news if Fico forms the government.”

PS followed SMER-SSD in the election, with 17.9% of the vote and moderate-left party HLAS came in third with almost 15%.