Accidents and bad news are always unexpected, and not long ago, another bad news came from NATO.
According to Xinhua News Agency, on May 15, Slovak Prime Minister Fizo was suddenly shot on the same day, and the killer fired several shots at him, and then Fizo was taken to the hospital, and the perpetrator has been controlled.
According to a number of European media reports, Russia Today cited multiple European media reports, the gunman was a 71-year-old writer named Yuragi Sintura, a supporter of the liberal opposition party Progressive Slovakia who said he did not agree with the government's policies. From this point of view, it is likely that the assassination of Slovak Prime Minister Fizo by the murderer was motivated by political reasons.
However, the full truth of this assassination still needs to be investigated and confirmed by the Slovak authorities, including the true identity and real motive of the perpetrator.
According to a CCTV News report on the 16th, shortly after the incident, UN Secretary-General Guterres condemned it and wished Fizo a speedy recovery. It is worth noting that the Russian side reacted very quickly, and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke out almost immediately.
According to a report by the Russian Satellite News Agency on the 16th, Putin has called the President of Slovakia to express his anger at the assassination, saying that the crime is heinous, and at the same time directly expressing support for Fizo, and praising Fizo for being brave and strong-willed. Subsequently, the Russian Foreign Ministry also spoke out about the incident, bluntly appreciating Fizo, praising Fizo for daring to speak out in disagreement with the mainstream of the collective West, saying that Russia knows Fizo like a friend.
It is obvious that the statement of the Russian side is full of favorability towards Fizo, almost in support of Fizo. As a matter of fact, as the prime minister of a NATO member state, Fizo's words and deeds are indeed more friendly to Russia everywhere.
First, Fizo does not support military aid to Ukraine. According to a report on October 2, 2023, Fizo, who just won the Slovak parliamentary election, said that Slovakia is facing many more serious problems than Ukraine, and his party will stop supplying weapons to Ukraine after the party forms a government, and will make every effort to promote peace talks. As for NATO's dispatch of troops to Ukraine, Fizo is also firmly opposed, and also promised that Slovak soldiers will not enter Ukraine.
Second, Fizo has a clear and resolute stance against Ukraine's accession to NATO. According to CCTV News reported on April 18, Fizo said that in order to avoid increasing the risk of World War III, Slovakia will prevent Ukraine from joining NATO, and will not succumb to external pressure on this issue.
It is not difficult to see that Fizo's position is quite favorable to Russia, and it is no wonder that the Russian side supports Fizo so much, and Russia is only afraid to hope that Western countries will have more Fizo.
At the same time, Fizo's position on the Russia-Ukraine conflict is bound to be unpopular with the United States. Fizo opposes Ukraine's accession, and on May 15, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated that the U.S. would guide Ukraine to join the treaty. The sudden assassination has led to speculation about whether there is a more complex reason behind this.
Finally, let me make two superficial observations.
1. NATO is not monolithic in dealing with the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The United States and Britain adhere to the position of aiding Ukraine to resist Russia, France advocates sending troops to Ukraine to fight Russia, but sends representatives to attend Putin's inauguration ceremony, Slovakia opposes aid to Ukraine, and Hungary openly cooperates with Russia. As the conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues, it is difficult to guarantee that NATO will not be further torn apart;
2. The attack on the Slovak Prime Minister is not a good thing for the United States, and it is difficult to guarantee that the incident will not have an impact on the West's route of aiding Ukraine and resisting Russia, and the United States needs to carefully consider how to respond to it to avoid the incident setting off a storm within NATO that the United States does not want to see. As for how the event develops next, let's wait and see.