Bratislava – Estonia has prohibited a special flight carrying Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) from traversing its airspace. Fico described this decision in a social media statement as a calculated effort to undermine his trip to Moscow. Additionally, Latvia and Lithuania have also confirmed that they will not permit foreign leaders to fly through their airspace en route to Moscow for the Victory Day celebrations on May 9, as reported by TASR citing DPA.
“This significantly disrupts our entire agenda, complicating matters, as we can no longer adhere to the planned schedule for tomorrow evening, May 8, in Moscow,” he stated. However, he indicated that the protocol team is striving to identify an alternative route that will enable them to participate in the wreath-laying ceremony at the tomb of the unknown soldier on the morning of May 9, followed by four “extremely important” bilateral meetings.
Fico emphasized that Estonia’s refusal to permit overflight is surprising, given that Slovakia holds a year-round permit for its government fleet to utilize Estonian airspace. “This is clearly a deliberate attempt to hinder my visit to Moscow for the official commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II,” he asserted.
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna declared on Thursday that “the use of Estonian airspace for a flight to Moscow for the May 9 parade is unequivocally out of the question, and Estonia has no intention of supporting this event in any capacity.” He also noted that Tallinn had denied overflight permissions to Cuban and Brazilian flights carrying notable figures.
Lithuania also denied two government aircraft permission to use its airspace. President Gitanas Nauséda confirmed media reports stating that they did not authorize overflight for Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić or Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, citing security concerns as the basis for their decision. Similarly, the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced it could not provide diplomatic clearance for flights participating in the May 9 event in Moscow.
During a press conference in Bratislava on Wednesday, Fico noted that besides meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, he is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary To Lam during his trip to Moscow.
On the same day, Slovak opposition leaders once again urged Fico to cancel his planned visit to the 80th-anniversary celebrations of the end of World War II in Moscow, highlighting concerns for Slovakia’s interests. Representatives from opposition parties PS, SaS, KDH, and the extra-parliamentary Democrats stated at a joint press conference that they view this action as disgraceful and a significant deviation from Slovak foreign policy, which they believe risks eroding trust with partners and allies. They asserted that Fico’s motivations for attending the event are rooted in personal rather than national interests. (May 7)
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