Parliamentary chair's speech in Russia sparks more controversies

Parliamentary chair's speech in Russia sparks more controversies

After criticism from the Slovak Foreign and European Affairs Minister, Miroslav Lajčák, of the Smer-SD party, Slovak Parliamentary Chair Andrej Danko (Slovak National Party) faced further criticism for delivering his speech in the Russian State Duma. Lajčák was uncomfortable with the fact that Danko had felt no need to consult his speech in advance with his Ministry. Last weekend, Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee chair Frantisek Šebej of the Most-Híd party contributed to the criticism. He said that Danko's speech flies in the face of Slovakia's foreign affairs policy orientation and Danko's visit to Russia was a mistake.

"I don't know about any other delegation from the EU that would have visited Duma after the Crimea annexation," said Šebej. "Everything he mentioned was total nonsense. What Slav solidarity did he praise? The one that enables Russians to kill people in Ukraine? The host, Russian State Duma chair Vyacheslav Volodin has been on the sanctions list following the Crimea annexation, and I fail to understand how Slovak constitutional officials can allow themselves to be hosted by a person who is the target of sanctions," claimed Šebej.

Danko defended himself by saying that invitation to speak in the Russian Duma was an honour for him. "If someone has an option to speak in China or any other global power, it helps the nation. I didn't say in my speech that we were leaving the EU. I thanked them for history and pointed to positive factors. You think that the US and Russian presidents are trading insults?" stated Danko, adding that although Slovakia is right to condemn the 1968 occupation of the erstwhile Czechoslovakia, this does not mean that the Slovaks should forget about WWII, when Russians liberated the country.


Mojmir Prochazka, Photo: TASR

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