Sutaj Estok: We Stand Behind Health Minister Sasko on Pandemic Agreement

Bratislava, May 19 (TASR) - In the case of the pandemic agreement, coalition party Voice-SD stands behind Health Minister Kamil Sasko, stated Interior Minister and Voice-SD leader Matus Sutaj Estok on Monday, adding that Voice-SD ministers did not express their approval of rejecting the agreement during the vote on it. "The number of ministers from Smer-SD and SNS [the Slovak National party] is greater than the number of Voice-SD ministers. The government usually makes its decisions by consensus and unanimously. In this case, however, there was a vote, and the Voice-SD ministers were outvoted. It took place, and we expressed our objections," he said. Sutaj Estok noted that the advantage of the treaty is that, in the event of another pandemic, response measures would have to follow established standards. "In such crises, it's better to rely on the rest of the world, which managed the pandemic significantly better," the minister added. According to the minister, the pandemic treaty shouldn't be demonised. "The WHO is a standard organisation that deals with such issues, and Slovakia's participation in it has been beneficial, as we have also gained real advantages from it," he noted, adding that Slovakia has reservations about the agreement, but these can be negotiated via standard procedures. Sutaj Estok believes that the health minister's statement was fairly clear and understandable. "It somewhat damages Slovakia's image abroad that we're the only ones with such objections. No one is against them, but it could be done through a different procedure to avoid drawing unnecessary attention, though I respect the decision," he added. Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) announced that the government decided that Slovak delegation won't support the pandemic agreement at the World Health Assembly in Geneva and should request a vote instead of global consensus. Sasko disagrees with the decision, highlighting the treaty's benefits and stating that it doesn't limit any country's sovereignty or freedom to decide how to respond to a pandemic. The 78th session of the World Health Assembly is taking place in Geneva from 19 to 27 May. The wording of a pandemic agreement aimed at better preparing for and combating pandemics has been under negotiation for several years. lin/df