Several Cabinet Ministers Express Reservations towards Fico's Visit to Moscow

Bratislava, May 7 (TASR) - Several ministers of Robert Fico's (Smer-SD) cabinet are uneasy about his planned trip to Moscow, speaking about the risk of damaging the country's image abroad. This has emerged from statements that they made before the cabinet session on Wednesday. Investment Minister Samuel Migal (Independent) said that he wouldn't travel to Moscow for the celebrations in the current situation. He doesn't view it as suitable at least from the security viewpoint. No information about the premier's agenda is available to him. "It is exclusively an affair of the Government Office and the premier," he said. Vice-premier for the Recovery Plan Peter Kmec (Voice-SD) thinks that there are enough places in Slovakia where fallen members of the Red Army can be commemorated in a dignified manner. He's afraid that Fico's trip will damage Slovakia's reputation abroad. "Maybe this trip is good for the Smer party, but definitely not for Slovakia," he stated. Education Minister Tomas Drucker (Voice-SD) considers the trip to Moscow to be the premier's decision. "He is going to honour the memory of WWII, or rather the victory over fascism there," he said. He stressed that the Voice-SD party views May 8 as the holiday marking the liberation of Czechoslovakia and the end of WWII. "Let's not associate this with support for the current Russian regime," he added. Fico plans to take part in the celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII in Moscow on May 9. He said that he is going to pay tribute to the thousands of Red Army soldiers who were killed while liberating Slovakia, as well as to the millions of other victims of the 'Nazi rampage'. ko/df