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By David Cerny and Radovan Stoklasa
BRATISLAVA (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Slovaks returned to a central square in the capital on Friday for the second large protest in two weeks, opposing what they see as a policy shift by Prime Minister Robert Fico aimed at moving closer to Russia.
Protesters also gathered in dozens of other cities and towns across the central European nation. They called for Fico to resign with chants of "Resign, resign" and "Russian agent".
Citing a company overseeing security at the rally, news website Dennik N estimated the crowd in Bratislava's Freedom Square at between 42,000 and 45,000 people.
This was slightly below the demonstration two weeks ago that attracted an estimated 60,000 people to the capital and below the levels in 2018 when the murder of an investigative journalist sparked rallies that forced Fico's resignation.
Tensions have built in recent weeks after Fico's leftist-nationalist government attacked progressive opponents, accusing them of attempting to cause chaos and overthrow the government.
The government is weighing new preventive measures due to what Fico has said were plans to escalate protests into attempts at illegally overthrowing the government, including by occupying state buildings. Fico has rejected opposition calls to step down.
Fico, since his return as prime minister for a fourth time in 2023, has sparked worries among critics that his government is weakening democratic values and shifting foreign policy away from European Union and NATO allies and closer to Russia.
The latest round of protests come after Fico privately travelled to Moscow in December to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, a rare encounter for an EU leader since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Fico has defended his government's foreign policy, saying it worked in all directions. While critical of some EU policies, he has said policy was still determined by EU and NATO membership.
(Writing by Michael Kahn, Reporting by David Cerny and Radovan Stoklasa in Bratislava, Editing by David Gregorio)
