The Slovak parliament has passed a resolution urging members of the populist left-right cabinet of Robert Fico not to vote for new EU sanctions directed against Russia.

The opposition tried to boycott the motion by leaving the session, so making the parliamentary session invalid, but one opposition legislator was registered as present, pushing the number of present legislators to 76, the lowest possible quorum for a valid session in the parliament of 150, while 51 of the present legislators backed the motion.

“National Council of the Slovak Republic [parliament] states that the sanctions policy and trade curtailments against the Russian Federation contribute to the growth of energy prices and disrupt supply chains, which weakens competition and economic benefits of the Slovak business,” the resolution reads.

It is unclear whether Fico, who has repeatedly threatened to block further EU sanctions against Russia but has never actually dared to do so, will observe the memorandum on the EU level.

Only last week Fico reiterated that he backs the EU sanctions against Russia and the regime of Vladimir Putin if these do not collide with Slovak interests.

“If these are sanctions which do not threaten our own interests, then we go ahead as part of unity in the European Union. At the same time, if these are sanctions which could threaten national interests of the Slovak Republic, then we will veto these,” Fico was quoted as saying by the Slovak press agency TASR.

The passing of the resolution was not expected, as not all the ruling coalition legislators backed it, particularly in the ranks of the centre-left Hlas, but it was celebrated by ultranationalist SNS, whose leader Andrej Danko stated at a press conference inside the parliament building that “I am proud that the parliament passed it.”

“I want to thank SNS legislators for bravery, and to Smer legislators for joining [in backing the motion] and at the end of the day we achieved something which I think will now resonate in the European Union,” Danko was quoted as saying by the state broadcaster STVR and other Slovak media.      

Opposition parties were quickly criticised, including from their own ranks, for the bodged boycott attempt, prompting Michal Šimečka, chairman of the largest opposition party, centrist Progressive Slovakia, to state that “I am sorry that – because of technical failure – the tactic to block the parliament did not work, like we managed to do in the past.”

“I would never imagine pointing fingers immediately after the voting at the concrete colleague,” Šimečka wrote in a statement shared on his Facebook social media page.

Liberal ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs Rastislav Kačer asked ironically on his Facebook page, “when agent Fico votes for the sanctions at the nearest EU Council in contradiction to this memorandum, will the National Council hold a vote of confidence against him for disrespecting the parliament?”

“I am asking on behalf of a friend who does not always understand the complexity of our politics,” Kačer added, hinting at Fico’s balancing act of keeping his ruling coalition, which includes radical pro-Kremlin SNS and more moderate Hlas, together.

The country's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Juraj Blanár of Fico's populist Smer party, who caused outrage in Slovak diplomacy by holding meetings with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov and for replacing seasoned diplomats with recent Moscow’s elite MGIMO graduates, was quick to signal that it may not be possible for the cabinet to observe the passed resolution.

“It is necessary that its [possible] execution is addressed by the National Council and other state bodies relevant for adopting and implementing sanctions,” Blanár told the country’s media on June 5.