Slovak PM says he will meet Putin briefly but skip Victory Day parade

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has said he will visit Moscow on 9 May and meet Russian leader Vladimir Putin, but will not attend the military parade marking Victory Day.

Source: SME, citing Fico on the sidelines of the European Political Community summit, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The Kremlin said last week that Fico would be among the foreign guests at the 9 May military parade in Moscow.

Fico himself denied that he would attend the parade, saying he plans only to lay flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

"I will lay flowers at the tomb of the unknown Red Army soldier in gratitude for the liberation on behalf of Slovaks, and I have a brief meeting scheduled with President Putin. That is all. I am not attending any military parade," the Slovak prime minister said. [N.B. Ukrainska Pravda does not recognise Putin as president – ed.]

Fico also defended his decision to travel to Russia, which has been criticised by the European Commission.

"I will not allow myself to be put in a situation where I feel any remorse," he said.

Background:

• Recently, Czechia granted permission for the Slovak prime minister's aircraft to fly over its territory en route to Moscow for 9 May.
• Earlier, the Baltic states refused to allow the Slovak government plane to pass through their airspace. A similar situation occurred last year, when due to a flight ban, Fico's plane travelled to Moscow via Hungary, Romania, the Black Sea, Georgia and Russia.
• Last year, Robert Fico and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić were the only European leaders to attend Putin's 9 May celebrations in Moscow.

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