PS Criticises Government's Response to Middle East Crisis

Bratislava, 2 March (TASR) – The Slovak government was unprepared with respect to the situation in the Middle East, said the opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party on Monday, criticising what it called a delayed response, including the failure to evacuate the Slovak Embassy in Tehran, Iran, at an earlier stage. PS member Peter Bator made this statement at a press conference on Monday. "The prime minister and the foreign minister held a press conference on the third day after the conflict broke out; the third day. This is exactly how many days it took for us to receive the first bits of information from such high-level state leadership. It's a clear example of how crisis management in this country doesn't work, especially when we're facing a crisis affecting thousands of our citizens," he said. Bator reproached government representatives for their late reactions. He pointed out that information on official websites was only updated in the afternoon following the start of the conflict and that it was limited in scope. He also criticised the fact that the evacuation of the Slovak Embassy in Tehran took place only on the third day after the attack. "Those employees should have left the country long ago. It's a direct threat to our diplomats," he added. mf/df