Korcok: Blanar's Foreign Policy Not Protecting, But Damaging Slovak Interests

Bratislava, 19 May (TASR) - The policy pursued by Foreign Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) doesn't protect the interests of Slovakia, but harms them instead, opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party member and former foreign affairs minister Ivan Korcok told a news conference on Monday. Korcok criticised Blanar for either remaining silent on important international issues or spreading Russian propaganda. According to Korcok, he should resign from his post. Korcok lambasted statements made by Blanar at last week's meeting of chiefs of diplomacy in Turkey. "Answering an absolutely banal question from journalists as to how the Slovak foreign affairs minister sees the prospects for peace in Ukraine, he replied, I quote: 'first we need to eliminate the causes of the conflict', thus taking up Russian President Vladimir Putin's rhetoric," stated Korcok. "President Putin sees the causes of the conflict in NATO enlargement and the presence of allies in countries such as Slovakia. In practice this means that Russia should have the right of veto over who can defend us. This is the narrative that Russian propaganda is spreading, and this is exactly what minister Blanar is repeating," stressed Korcok. He reproached the minister for remaining silent when it comes to important international issues, giving US tariffs as an example of this. Korcok also criticised Blanar for not going to Lviv during the celebrations of victory over fascism there in order to show where Slovakia belongs. "He isn't doing what a foreign affairs minister should do. I think that we don't actually have a minister and he has no business holding that post," stated Korcok, adding that there are several politicians in Slovakia at the moment who have much a bigger influence on the country's foreign policy than the minister who is supposed to be formally representing the country. ko/df