There are estimates that there is a 70-percent likelihood of a major military conflict erupting in Ukraine, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said at an HN Club conference in Bratislava on Tuesday. "Far be it from me to exaggerate, but I can confirm that I've had several noteworthy meetings lately that were confidential. The probability of a military conflict breaking out is at 70 percent, and I mean a big military conflict here", said the premier, before specifying that what he has in mind is a bigger conflict than the one between Ukraine and Russia, alluding to the fact that other nations or NATO could become involved in large-scale military operations. Fico said that the sources for such information are from Germany and are credible. Fico went on to urge European Union countries to attempt to avert such a scenario and send out "peace signals", or else the probability of a large armed conflict could become even higher. "There's a great deal of nervousness over this, so if there are still forces in Europe that are ready to act as a kind of peacemaker, then Slovakia must be on their side", said Fico. The premier went on to describe the situation in Ukraine as a geopolitical conflict between the USA and Russia, with the European Union playing a lesser role. "This is probably why it [the EU] will sustain major damage", said the prime minister. Fico said that the recent developments in Crimea, which has been annexed by Russia, will probably need to be accepted, but he added that he can't imagine another violation of Ukraine's territorial integrity.

Text: Gavin Shoebridge, Photo: SITA