Fico: It's Inappropriate Between EU and NATO Partners to Issue Flight Bans

Bratislava, May 11 (TASR) - Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) is not concerned about a potential deterioration in relations with partners in the European Union (EU) and NATO with respect to his recent trip to Moscow for the celebrations marking the end of WW2. Speaking at a press conference held on Sunday, Fico instead criticized the Baltic states' refusal to allow his aircraft to fly through their airspace to Moscow, which forced him to change his route. "Such things are inappropriate between partners," said the Prime Minister, who believes the flight ban was intended to sabotage his trip. "It couldn’t stop me — I had several route options," Fico underlined. Fico again lambasted remarks made by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas. "She’s not my superior; she has no right to tell me what I should or shouldn’t do," Fico declared. He emphasized that during his bilateral talks in Moscow, he obtained important information that European diplomacy could already be working with — whether it concerns the initiative to organize direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul, or the development of trade relations between the U.S. and China. Vice-premier and Defence Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD) also stressed the importance of bilateral negotiations at the press conference. He highlighted the potential for Slovakia’s defense industry to expand into new markets in South America and Southeast Asia. "Vietnam and Brazil are large countries that serve as gateways to their respective regions," Kalinak noted regarding Fico’s talks with officials from Vietnam and Brazil. mf