Foreign Affairs Minister Ivan Korčok (SaS) will ask for a meeting of the three highest constitutional representatives, i.e. President Zuzana Čaputová, Speaker of Parliament Boris Kollár (Sme Rodina) and PM Igor Matovič (OĽaNO), to reaffirm the foreign policy orientation of Slovakia.
“I need the reassurance that nothing has changed in our foreign policy,” Korčok told the media on March 2, a day after the Sputnik V vaccine was delivered to Slovakia.
During the press conference, he appreciated the foreign policy achievements in the past year. He said Matovič has been, until now, sending very clear messages where Slovakia belongs, also regarding rule of law in the EU and the situation in Belarus.
“For me, it will be decisive what happens after this moment, which I would call a slip or lapse,” Korčok told the media. “I am not throwing this into the trash.”
Tool of hybrid war
Korčok considered the discussions on the Sputnik V purchase happening in Slovakia for several weeks solely as an attempt to get out of the pandemic, as vaccination is the only way out, he said. This perception changed when he saw the prime minister personally welcoming vaccines to Slovakia.
In his reaction published on Facebook on March 1, Korčok described the press conference at the Košice airport on March 1 as an inappropriate gesture, because Slovakia has never welcomed vaccines at airports, even registered ones.
The supply of Sputnik V to Europe encourages the disinformation scene and pro-Kremlin forces, he continued.
“At this moment, it is clear that Sputnik V is not only a vaccine, but a tool of hybrid war,” Korčok noted.