MEPs from the PS party urged R. Fico to cancel his trip to Moscow

Bratislava – Six Members of the European Parliament (EP) from the opposition movement Progressive Slovakia (PS) called in an open letter to the Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic, Robert Fico (Smer-SD), to cancel his planned participation in the celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Moscow. They reminded that the EU leaders were also urged not to attend the celebrations in the Russian capital by the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, TASR reports.

Opposition MEPs reminded that Russia is waging war against Ukraine and continues what it started back in 2014 with the occupation of parts of Ukraine, as well as the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula.

“Celebrating peace with those who consciously destroy it is a slap in the face to the victims and a betrayal of the values on which Europe and democracy stand. It is you who publicly calls for peace – why then do you want to celebrate alongside Putin, who unleashed this war?” wrote the MEPs from PS, who are part of the Renew Europe (RE) group. They reminded that the Russian attack on the city of Sumy on Palm Sunday killed 34 people and injured 100 others, and the Slovak Prime Minister did not condemn it.
MEP Ľubica Karvašová pointed out on her Facebook account that the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, also called for not attending the celebrations in the Russian capital. She urged European leaders to distance themselves from the regime’s propaganda celebrations, which is waging war in Europe.

“We, MEPs from Progressive Slovakia call in an open letter for you to cancel this trip. Putin’s regime kills civilians every day, abducts children, and destroys Ukrainian cities. Participation in the celebrations alongside Putin at a time when Russia has been waging a brutal war against Ukraine for more than three years is a disgrace and a betrayal of the values on which Europe stands,” said Karvašová.

Tereza Mikáčová from the PS media department reminded that Prime Minister Fico responded to Kallas’s call with a personal attack against her and accusations of blackmail. According to the letter signed by MEPs Martin Hojsík, Ľubica Karvašová, Veronika Ostrihoňová, Ľudovít Ódor, Michal Wiezik, and Lucia Yar, Fico’s reaction to Kallas clearly showed that he understood to whom the call was addressed.

Participation in the celebrations, according to the MEPs from the movement, sends a signal that Fico stands on the side of the aggressor. This threatens Slovakia’s position in the Union, distances it from its partners, and pushes it into isolation and the influence of Russia.

Fico responded on Tuesday (April 15) to Kallas’s call on social media. “No one can tell me where I should or should not travel. I will go to Moscow to pay tribute to the thousands of Red Army soldiers who died liberating the Slovak Republic. As well as to the millions of other victims of the Nazis’ rampage. Just as I paid tribute to the victims of the landings in Normandy or the Pacific, or how I will go to pay my respects to the RAF pilots,” he wrote. (April 16)

“Celebrating peace with those who consciously destroy it is a slap in the face to the victims and a betrayal of the values on which Europe and democracy stand. It is you who publicly calls for peace – why then do you want to celebrate alongside Putin, who unleashed this war?” MEPs from Progressive Slovakia