Slovakia on Monday accused Russia of “impermissible interference” in Saturday’s election, while the Slovak president entrusted the formation of a new government to populist Robert Fico, opposed to military aid to Ukraine and perceived as pro-Russian. defeated the party Progressive Slovakia (PS, 18%).

At the same time, the country summoned a Russian diplomat following statements by the head of Russian foreign intelligence who spoke of Washington’s “interference” in Slovak domestic politics. The Slovak Foreign Ministry protested Sergiy Naryshkin’s statements, saying he “questioned the fairness of free and democratic elections in Slovakia” and said the comments were “unacceptable interference by the Russian Federation in the electoral process”.

The Russian Embassy in Bratislava denied any involvement on Monday. “Unlike some of Slovakia’s current allies, we do not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries and do not engage in regime change,” the embassy was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies. For its part, the US State Department recalled that “the United States does not take a position on foreign elections.”