MFA: Britain Promised to Explain Activities Concerning Slovak Election

Bratislava, 30 July (TASR) - The British Embassy in Slovakia has promised to provide an explanation regarding the activities related to information on the alleged influencing of the Slovak general election in 2023, the Slovak Foreign Affairs Ministry announced following a meeting with British Ambassador Nigel Baker on Wednesday. The embassy should provide this information during August. Slovakia will then evaluate the British side's answers and decide on further action, said the ministry. Slovak diplomacy has asked for answers regarding a contract allegedly concluded between the British Foreign Office and the Zinc Network media agency for the recruitment of influencers. "We asked specific questions and requested clear answers as to whether there's any other contract, in addition to the one reported by the media, which concerns activities in Slovak territory. We also asked for a list of all influencers who have operated or are operating in Slovakia based on this," said Foreign Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar. The Slovak Republic is requesting the content of the influencers' posts and the amount of their remuneration. "We also wanted to know whether such a contract is still valid and, if so, we requested an immediate suspension of the contracts," added the minister. Other questions from the Slovak ministry concern the involvement and degree of interference of the British Foreign Office, as well as the reasons for the concealment of such a contract. "Slovakia does care about good relations with the United Kingdom, but within the framework of mutual trust it is extremely important that our alliance partner presents all information and explains the ambiguities that still exist," stressed Blanar. The Foreign Affairs Ministry rejects "any interference by other state in the internal political affairs of the sovereign Slovak Republic with any intention", such as influencing election turnout. The ministry claims that the British side publicly admitted to do this in its statement on Tuesday (29 July). The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of Great Britain on Tuesday denied claims that the United Kingdom tried to influence the outcome of the election or to encourage in favour of a particular political party, adding that its activity was aimed at "encouraging young voters to take part in the election, regardless of their political affiliation or support". Slovak Premier Robert Fico spoke about the case on Tuesday, referring to a story published by the marker.sk website. He stated that the British side paid influencers to influence the Slovak election to the detriment of Smer-SD and in favour of Progressive Slovakia (PS). ko/mcs