https://www.rt.com/news/617018-estonia-slovakia-fico-moscow/Slovak PM accuses EU country of trying to thwart his Moscow visit

Slovak Prime Minister Rober Fico has accused the federal government of fellow EU member-state Estonia of trying to thwart his visit to Moscow for the Victory Day parade on Could 9. The occasion marks the eightieth anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany by the Soviet Union.

Estonia closed its airspace to Fico’s airplane on Wednesday. The Baltic state’s overseas minister, Margus Tsahkna, claimed that “Russia is a country that launched and continues a battle in Europe” and “participation in propaganda occasions organized by them needs to be dominated out” for EU representatives.

“Estonia knowledgeable us that it’ll not permit us to fly over its territory although Slovakia has a year-round allow to use Estonian airspace for our authorities wing,” Fico mentioned in a video-message on Fb later within the day.

He described the actions by the Estonian authorities as “a deliberate try to thwart my visit to Moscow on the event of the official celebrations of the eightieth anniversary of the top of the Second World Warfare.”

The airspace closure is “extraordinarily disruptive,” Fico mentioned, including that it might forestall him from participating within the celebratory occasions in Moscow scheduled for Thursday night.

In accordance to the prime minister, the federal government in Bratislava is searching for an “various route” for him to give you the option to arrive within the Russian capital earlier than the wreath-laying ceremony and the parade on Friday.

The vice speaker of the Russian parliament’s higher chamber, Konstantin Kosachev, advised Argumenty I Fakty newspaper on Thursday that the closure of the Estonian airspace for Fico was a “hostile” transfer by Tallinn aimed in opposition to Russia and its companions.

In accordance to Kosachev, the Baltic nations haven’t come to phrases with the outcomes of the Second World Warfare, and for them, “Could 9 is just not a day of victory, however a day of defeat.”

Earlier, Latvia and Lithuania denied their airspace to the airplane of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who was additionally among the many world leaders heading to the Victory Day parade. Vucic was pressured to fly by way of Bulgaria, Türkiye, Azerbaijan and Georgia so as to make it to Moscow on Wednesday.