The number of people at the international conference as Fico announces the intel report about the 'coup d'etat' in the alliance with foreigners.
Thousands of people protested in Slovakia as they protested Prime Minister Robert Fico's push for closer ties with Russia.
Friday's rallies, which saw more than 60,000 people gather in Bratislava, reflected the latest public anger against Fico himself. trip to Moscow Talks with President Vladimir Putin last month sparked several protests.
The development group Mier Ukraine – “Peace for Ukraine” – said it called the meetings in defense of “democracy”, following the Prime Minister's speech on changing Slovakia's foreign policy and leaving the European Union and NATO.
“We don't want to be with Russia… we want to be in the European Union, we want to be in NATO and we want to stay in it,” protester Frantisek Valach said in Bratislava.
On Friday, tensions flared after a leftist government minister accused organizers and political opponents of seeking a “coup d'etat” in collaboration with an unidentified foreign group.
Fico, who was wounded in attack and a gunman last year, says a group of anonymous experts who were present in Slovakia supported protests in Ukraine in 2014 and Georgia last year, linking their statements to a secret report by the country's intelligence agencies, known as SIS.
He did not provide concrete evidence but said publicly that opposition parties are planning to seize government buildings, block roads, organize a nationwide strike and start clashes with the police as part of their bid to overthrow his government.
Opposition parties oppose the Fico government, but Fico seems likely to survive the vote because he still maintains a minority majority.
Friday's protests came close to happening in 2018 when the murder of Jan Kuciak, a journalist investigating a massive fraud, forced Fico to resign.
Fico's secret visit to Moscow in December saw him hold talks with Putin, a rare event for an EU leader since Russia annexed Ukraine in 2022.
They have been in open conflict with Ukraine after Kyiv suspended Russian gas exports to Slovakia on January 1, and threatened to cut aid in retaliation.
“Mr. Fico is very cruel and it disturbs me. He has lost his mind and should leave public life,” said Jozef Betak, a 49-year-old expert, at the event. “We cannot remain silent, otherwise nothing will change.”