Smer MEP Erik Kaliňák leaves the Russian embassy in Bratislava. (source: Facebook - Viktor Breiner)
Erik Kaliňák, chief adviser to the Slovak prime minister and a Member of the European Parliament for the ruling Smer party, on Wednesday 30 April rejected allegations that he held unofficial talks at the Russian Embassy after a civic group published a photograph showing him leaving the building.
In a statement, Kaliňák insisted that he had visited only the consular section to apply for a visa ahead of an upcoming trip to Russia. “I was not unofficially at the Russian Embassy, as the post suggests,” he said, as quoted by the Slovak daily Sme. “I was at the consular department, as any member of the public would be, arranging my visa.”
The photograph was released by the civic initiative Mier Ukrajine (Peace to Ukraine), which suggested the visit was of a more discreet nature. Kaliňák dismissed the implication, saying he had entered through the regular public entrance. “I do not even know what was meant by a service entrance. I used the standard public door and went only to the consular section, not the embassy proper, which is next door.”
Kaliňák, who said he had received an invitation to Russia as a Member of the European Parliament, noted that other MEPs had been similarly invited, including fellow Smer MEP Ľuboš Blaha. The trip, he stressed, was not an official European Parliament delegation but was based on personal invitations.
Pressed on the purpose of his visit, Kaliňák was vague. “I can’t tell you exactly, it is still being organised,” he said. “I will attend some events, more or less, where the prime minister will also be present.”
Prime Minister Robert Fico is expected to travel to Russia for celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, at the invitation of President Vladimir Putin. The visit comes despite Moscow’s ongoing war against Ukraine, which began with the full-scale invasion in February 2022.
In March 2022, Slovakia suspended visa-free entry for Russian officials and diplomats — a measure that applies even to holders of service and diplomatic passports, such as Members of the European Parliament. According to several officials familiar with diplomatic procedures, visas are still required for such travel, whether to Russia or the United States.
Kaliňák defended the visit, saying he saw no issue with travelling to Russia at this time. “If I thought it was a problem, I wouldn’t be going,” he said. “I am going to pay tribute to the soldiers who liberated us from fascism.”
