Danko: Resolution on Not Voting for Anti-Russian Sanctions Will Resonate in EU

Bratislava, 5 June (TASR) - Junior governing Slovak National Party (SNS) leader Andrej Danko is proud of the resolution in which Parliament obliged government members not to vote for the adoption of new sanctions and trade restrictions against Russia, he himself told a news conference held in Parliament on Thursday, adding that he expects this to resonate in the EU. "I'm proud that Parliament has adopted it. I want to thank SNS MPs for their bravery, but also Smer MPs for joining in, and at the end of the day we achieved something that I think will resonate in the European Union now," he said. According to Danko, the approved resolution clearly states that anti-Russian sanctions are causing damage to Slovakia's economy. "I would like to emphasise that Parliament was the first to admit the economic damage that arises from Western states forcing us to cut ourselves off from an eastern source of energy," said Danko. Fifty-one of the 76 MPs present for the vote backed SNS's draft. They included the whole SNS caucus, most of the Smer-SD caucus, some Voice-SD MPs and several Independents. Jan Ferencak (Voice-SD) voted against the draft, while an additional 23 MPs, mainly from the Voice-SD caucus, abstained from voting. Opposition MPs didn't take part in the vote. Ferencak told journalists that Slovakia has supported sanctions against Russia 17 times in the past, and the government has clearly said that it will support sanctions that do not directly affect Slovakia. "So, in this case, the adopted resolution is misguided, as it obliges Slovakia to always be against, and in that case Slovakia would join Hungary and veto all other sanctions that have no impact on Slovakia and that would prevent other countries from potentially trading with Russia," he said. According to him, the resolution isn't legally binding and the premier is not obliged to act in line with it. According to the opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party, the vote showed that the coalition parties are unable to agree even on basic foreign-political matters. PS leader Michal Simecka said that it's up to the governing coalition how the country will act in the EU. If it vetoes sanctions, it will bring shame on Slovakia, he stated. ko/df