Russian Embassy in Bratislava (source: Sme)
The Slovak Foreign Affairs Ministry handed a protest note to the Russian Embassy in Bratislava on Tuesday evening, following the Kremlin's steps in eastern Ukraine.
Slovak diplomacy formally refused President Vladimir Putin's decision to recognise the independence of separatist territories.
“Slovakia considers this decision of the Russian Federation, a signatory of the Minsk Agreements, as a clear breach of international law and the Minsk Agreements, which assume the full return of the territories under Ukrainian control,” the protest note reads, as quoted by the TASR newswire.
In contradiction with Russia's declared interest
It is also a breach of the resolution of the Security Council of the UN number 2202, which approved the package of measures for the implementation of the Minsk Agreements, the protest note adds.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry stated that this step is in direct contradiction with the Russian Federation's declared interest in seeking a constructive solution to the conflict with diplomatic dialogue as well as against the principle of indivisibility of security. The Russian Federation has requested diplomatic dialogue and indivisibility of security to be repected and Slovakia asks it to also respect them from the side of NATO and the EU.
“Slovakia does not recognise the self-proclaimed independence of the separatist areas of Donetsk and Luhansk and confirms its principled support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine in its internationally-recognised borders,” the ministry stated in the protest note.
