Slovak PM says Ukraine Will Not Be Invited to NATO

Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico said Wednesday that Ukraine won't be invited to join NATO and Russia would not withdraw its troops from the occupied Crimean peninsula or other parts of Ukraine.

“Ukraine won’t be invited to NATO. It will lose a third of its territory. There will be foreign military forces there," he said.

Speaking to the Parliamentary Committee for European Affairs on Wednesday, Fico accepted that Russia had violated international law by invading Ukraine but largely blamed the West for pushing Ukraine "into a bad situation."

He spoke ahead of his trip to an EU summit in Brussels.

Known for his pro-Russia views, Fico ended his country’s military aid for Ukraine and opposes EU sanctions on Russia.