Slovenian Parliament Speaker calls for referendum on NATO withdrawal

In NATO member Slovenia, Parliament Speaker Zoran Stevanovic, in a statement shared on his party Resnica's official social media account, called for a referendum to be held in parallel with the local elections on November 15 to vote on NATO membership.

According to reports in regional media, Stevanovic reacted to Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa's announcement at the NATO Summit in Ankara that 44 million euros (50 million dollars) in military support would be provided to Ukraine.

Reacting to the scale of the financial support Slovenia will provide for the PURL initiative, which aims to supply American weapons and defense systems to Ukraine with the money of European NATO allies, Stevanovic said, "Slovenia needs this 44 million euros much more right now. If we are aiming for peace, something needs to change."

In his statements, Stevanovic expressed that despite the aid provided to date, the war in Ukraine has not ended.

Slovenian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tone Kajzer responded to Stevanovic's statements by asserting that NATO membership forms the foundation of the country's security.

The Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS), led by Prime Minister Janez Jansa, characterized Stevanovic's call for a referendum as an attempt to distract public attention.

Stevanovic's statements came after the NATO Summit, where leaders of NATO member countries pledged support to Ukraine and discussed increasing defense spending to 5 percent of GDP by 2035.

News Source: 12punto