An extended session of the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee is set to debate the tense situation in Ukraine March 10, Speaker of Parliament Pavol Paška announced March 4.
The meeting will be attended by Prime Minister Robert Fico, Foreign and European Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák, Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák and Economy Minister Tomáš Malatinský, the TASR newswire wrote.
Russian armed forces since March 1, without firing a single shot, have occupied Ukraine’s Crimea penninsula. Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Ukraine’s acting prime minister, has said Ukraine will never give up Crimea, with the national parliament in Kiev adopting a resolution demanding the foreign troops to leave Ukraine – Slovakia’s eastern neighbour. Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 4 stated that an unconstitutional coup has taken place in Ukraine, adding that it isn’t necessary to use military force in Ukraine for the time being.
The opposition Slovak Democratic ad Christian Union (SDKÚ) announced that it has begun collecting signatures among MPs to request the leadership of the parliament to convene a special parliamentary session on Ukraine.
SDKÚ, which earlier on March 4 proposed the session, said that the later announcement of Paška on convening a special parliamentary committee meeting isn’t enough, calling for a plenary parliamentary session instead. According to the Parliamentary Rules of Procedure, 30 MPs’ signatures are required to back the convening of an extraordinary parliamentary session.
SDKÚ has proposed the parliament to adopt a resolution that would convey the country’s serious worry over the escalation of tension in Ukraine and urge Russia to withdraw without delay its troops from positions on the territory of a sovereign country, TASR wrote.
On the same day, the Slovak Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs called on the Russian Federation to withdraw its forces back to military bases and not intervene in the development in Ukraine. The ministry also condemned the violation of sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine by Russia, according to a statement quoted by TASR. It also declares the support for an international mission of observers to Crimea and eastern Ukraine.
(Source: TASR)
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
