Slovenia’s New Parliament Speaker Promises Referendum on Withdrawal from NATO

Zoran Stevanović, the newly elected Speaker of the National Assembly of Slovenia, has announced his intention to hold a referendum on the country’s withdrawal from NATO.

According to him, this initiative is part of his political commitments to voters, RTV SLO reports.

He is the leader of the small pro-Russian anti-establishment party Resni.ca, which secured a “deciding vote” during the formation of the parliamentary coalition.

“…At the same time, I must say that we promised the people a referendum on withdrawal from NATO and that we will also hold this referendum,” Stevanović stated.

The politician was elected Speaker of Parliament by secret ballot, with 48 deputies supporting his candidacy.

Stevanović is considered a politician with pro-Russian views. At the same time, he denies this, claiming that his position is pro-Slovenian.

During the interview, he emphasized that Slovenia must avoid getting involved in external military and diplomatic conflicts, as the country gains nothing from them.

“…We will be absolutely opposed to getting involved in external military and diplomatic disputes, because Slovenia never benefits from this…,” he stated.

As a reminder, last month, Slovenian law enforcement accused the private Israeli intelligence firm Black Cube of interfering in the country’s electoral process.

According to the investigation, company employees are allegedly involved in gathering compromising information and illegal wiretapping.

Last October, Slovenia joined the PURL program (Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List)—an initiative that provides for the procurement of American weapons for the Armed Forces of Ukraine using funds from NATO countries.

The funding was directed toward strengthening Ukraine’s air defense to protect energy and civilian infrastructure from Russian strikes.