MFA: We Call on Ukraine Not to Seek Other Explanations of What Slovakia Declared

Bratislava, 11 September (TASR) - Slovakia respects Ukraine's struggle for the sovereignty of its own territory and therefore calls on the Ukrainian side not to look for other explanations of what the Slovak Republic has openly declared, stated the Foreign Affairs Ministry in response to the statements by Ukrainian Foreign Ministry's spokesman Heorhiy Tykhyi. Slovak diplomacy is always ready to communicate with the Ukrainian side and provide it with unbiased information, and would therefore appreciate being approached directly in case of further doubts. The Slovak ministry criticised deliberate taking out of context and manipulation. The ministry of diplomacy noted that on Wednesday (10 September), Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) provided a clear statement on behalf of Slovakia, in which he condemned the intrusion of drones into the territory of a NATO partner - Poland. "The Slovak government does not absolve the Russian Federation of its responsibility, as the Ukrainian diplomacy spokesman states, but calls for a responsible approach in assessing this incident," stated the ministry's communications department, pointing out that Slovakia fully supported Poland, which initiated consultations under NATO Article 4. The ministry reiterated that Russia has no right to launch drones and missiles at any country. Likewise, the minister has repeatedly stressed to the Ukrainian side that Russia has violated international law and that there is no military solution to the war in Ukraine. "We honour Ukraine's struggle for the sovereignty of its own territory, and therefore we call on the Ukrainian side not to look for other explanations of what the Slovak Republic has openly declared," said the Slovak Foreign Ministry. Ukraine, reacting to Blanar's statements called on Slovakia on Thursday not to question Russia's responsibility for the violation of Polish airspace on Tuesday night. "A large number of Russian drones flew into Polish airspace. This is an empirical fact that doesn't require belief," spokesman Heorhiy Tykhyi told a press conference. "Such a massive border violation by Russian drones couldn't have been accidental. It's a fully deliberate escalation on the part of Russia," said the spokesman, calling on Slovakia "not to shift Moscow's responsibility with unreasonable doubts, but to acknowledge the reality as it is". The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry responded to Blanar's statements according to which the minister "wants to believe that the drones that penetrated Polish territory were drones that went there not to attack Poland but were supposed to end up on Ukrainian territory". In addition, Blanar also said that Slovakia considers the violation of Polish airspace by Russian drones to be a serious deterioration and escalation of the situation and expressed solidarity to our neighbour. am