Hungarian President László Sólyom said the diplomatic note issued by Slovakia to deny him an entry on August 21 is an unprecedented measure in relations between two allies, Slovakia and Hungary. The note reached Sólyom at the Hungarian-Slovak border.
The reason for the denied entry has been stated to be a safety risk, which the Hungarian President allegedly represents, newswire TASR wrote.
"I'm glad you're coming from the other side of the bridge, where they're unveiling the statue of (most revered Hungarian monarch King) Stephen I and you could see for yourself that there is no security risk," Sólyom told journalists. "No extremist are gathering there, nobody is planning to beat up anybody there."
Sólyom turned around at the Hungarian part of the bridge and returned to Komarom, accompanied by his entourage.
A diplomatic note was handed in by Slovakia's Foreign Affairs Ministry to a representative of the Hungarian Embassy in Slovakia earlier on August 21, in which Slovakia denied Sólyom entry to Slovakia.
If Hungary's President László Sólyom goes ahead with his planned visit to Komárno, he will gravely violate international law, Slovakia's laws and its sovereignty, Prime Minister Robert Fico said at a press conference on the same day, adding that the Slovak authorities won't physically prevent him from coming to Slovakia.
Slovak President Ivan Gašparovič requested asked Hungarian Ambassador to Slovakia Antal Heizer to urge Sólyom to reconsider his plans to attend the ceremonial unveiling of the statue, according to newswire TASR.
