Blanar Rejects Opposition Claims on EU Sanctions List

Bratislava, 1 April (TASR) – Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) on late Tuesday (31 March) rejected statements by the opposition regarding Slovakia's position on removing specific Russians from the European Union sanctions list. Progressive Slovakia (PS) and Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) suspect Slovakia of cooperating with Russia, citing published transcripts of phone calls between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto. "Today they grandly published information that has been publicly known for a year – that in March 2025 all 27 EU member states decided and agreed to remove seven individuals from the sanctions list for undermining Ukraine's territorial integrity, including Gulbachor Ismailova. So will Mr. (Ivan) Korcok and Progressive Slovakia label all EU member states as Russian agents now?" Blanar said. The foreign minister stressed that decisions on the EU's common foreign and security policy in the area of sanctions are adopted unanimously. Therefore, all member states must agree both to the inclusion and removal of individuals or legal entities from sanctions lists. The foreign minister declared that Slovakia carefully evaluates every person who is or should be included on the sanctions list. Blanar linked Tuesday's statements by PS to the election campaign in Hungary. "The Slovak government will in no way be drawn into opposition manipulations or into the currently culminating election campaign in Hungary. However, at this moment it is important to ask another question. How is it possible that someone, for whom it suits the election campaign, is illegally wiretapping the foreign minister of an EU member state?" he added. PS vice-chair Ivan Korcok said Blanar owes the public an explanation as to why Slovakia wanted to remove specific Russian entrepreneurs from the sanctions list and what Slovakia's interest was. He also called on the minister to disclose the number of members of the Russian diplomatic mission. "Slovakia is not behaving like a sovereign state protecting its own interests, but like a country used by Moscow and Budapest as their pawn," Korcok emphasised. SaS condemned the actions of Prime Minister Robert Fico's government (Smer-SD) "in dismantling the EU's sanctions policy". "These transcripts clearly confirm the Fico government's collaboration with Russia. Instead of protecting European sanctions and Slovakia's security, Fico and Blanar actively helped the Kremlin weaken the pressure on Putin," said MP Juraj Krupa (SaS). In his telephone call with Lavrov, Szijjarto reportedly said that "together with the Slovaks" he was submitting a proposal to remove Gulbachor Ismailova, sister of Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, from the EU sanctions list. The EU ultimately removed Ismailova along with two other Russian representatives from the list in March 2025. mf