The celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising (SNP) which will culminate on August 29 on Banská Bystrica, central Slovakia, will be also attended by Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoygu. He has been invited as a representative of the country and the army that helped liberate Slovakia from under the Nazi German influence in the World War II.
Slovak Foreign and European Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák says that Slovak officials will speak with him about Ukraine.
“I cannot imagine that nobody from the [Slovak] government would talk to the [Russian] minister about the situation in Ukraine,” Lajčák said, as quoted by TASR. “In spite of him arriving here only for a commemorative event…”
Lajčák also explained that the Slovak side would convey to representatives of the Russian Federation its stance which it holds as a European Union member state.
“We don’t say one thing in Brussels and another thing in Bratislava – and a third thing maybe in Moscow,” Lajčák said, as quoted by the SITA newswire.
“The fact that we approve of the sanctions does not mean that everyone is enthusiastic about them,” Lajčák continued. “But we have never said that we are against them; or that we would block them. … Needles to look for conflicts where there are none.”
Shoygu has no plan to negotiate with representatives of the Slovak government, the Russian Embassy to Slovakia reacted.
“The embassy is honoured to inform that the programme of the visit of Russian defence minister to Slovakia does not assume any official negotiations with representatives of the Slovak government,” the embassy statement reads, as quoted by the SITA newswire.
(Source: TASR, SITA)
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
