Kremlin confirms Slovak PM will attend Victory Day parade in Moscow

Yuri Ushakov, an aide to Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, has said that Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico will visit Moscow and take part in the military parade on 9 May.

Source: Kremlin-aligned Russian news agency RIA Novosti, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Ushakov confirmed to journalists that Fico will join the Victory Day parade in Moscow "among foreign guests". [Victory Day is a Russian holiday commemorating the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in 1945, celebrated on 9 May – ed.] He did not specify who else, apart from the Slovak prime minister, will visit Russia on 9 May.

"Fico is being talked about a lot, so regarding Fico I can confirm [his participation – ed.]," Ushakov said in response to journalists' questions.

Background:

• Earlier, media outlets citing Fico's statement reported that the Slovak prime minister had decided not to take part in the military parade in Moscow on 9 May, but had not cancelled his trip to Russia.
• The main obstacle to Fico's visit to Moscow was the position of the Baltic states – Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia have refused to allow his aircraft to pass through their airspace.
• After that, the Slovak government submitted a request to Poland for permission for Fico's aircraft to fly to Moscow.
• Last year, the Baltic states also refused to allow an aircraft carrying Fico to pass through their airspace on its way to Moscow. Due to the flight ban over Baltic territory, the plane carrying Fico travelled to Moscow via a southern route – through Hungary, Romania, the Black Sea, Georgia and Russia.
• That year, Fico and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić were the only guests from Europe at the level of heads of state to attend the Victory Day celebrations in Moscow hosted by Putin.

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