Foreign Policy
In foreign policy, Fico's government has faced controversies due to their affiliation with internationally isolated parties of Vladimír Mečiar and Jan Slota.
Compensating his lack of close political allies within the EU (the head of the Czech Social Democrats Jiri Paroubek being a notable exception), Fico has been actively strengthening relations with several non-EU countries such as Serbia and Russia. Slovakia modernised Russian MiG-fighters in Russia and did not buy new NATO-standard jets from the West. Additionally Fico accused Georgia of provoking Russia when attacking South Ossetia in 2008.
Fico is an opponent of the planned construction of new U.S. anti-ballistic missile and radar systems in military bases in neighbouring Czech Republic and Poland and one of the first steps upon taking the PM's office was a military pullout from Iraq. Fico opposed the unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo, as a result of which Slovakia has not recognised Kosovo as a sovereign state.
Read more about this topic: Robert Fico
Famous quotes related to foreign policy:
“Maybe it’s understandable what a history of failures America’s foreign policy has been. We are, after all, a country full of people who came to America to get away from foreigners. Any prolonged examination of the U.S. government reveals foreign policy to be America’s miniature schnauzer—a noisy but small and useless part of the national household.”
—P.J. (Patrick Jake)