SaS and Extra-Parliamentary Parties: Prime Minister's Trip to Moscow Shameful

Bratislava, May 9 (TASR) - The opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party and non-parliamentary parties Forum and ODS-Civic Democrats, united in the Centre-right Bloc initiative, have criticised Premier Robert Fico's (Smer-SD) trip to Moscow and his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling this a disgrace and a move that damages Slovakia's image in the eyes of its international partners, according to statements made by party leaders at a press conference on Friday. "It's a disgrace and a spit in the face of our foreign partners and allies in the European Union and NATO. These partners must now see us as an unreliable partner, an untrustworthy country with its leader at the helm. I want to send a message from here that Robert Fico isn't speaking in Moscow on behalf of the entire nation, and history will remember who was on the side of the aggressor and who preserved their honour," said SaS leader and MP Branislav Groehling. Premier Robert Fico flew to Moscow on Thursday (May 9) to attend the celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the WWII. As part of his visit, he's scheduled to meet Putin and hold bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Nguyen Phu Trọng. lin/df