Bratislava – The opposition party Progressive Slovakia (PS) has condemned the government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their response to the recent presidential elections in Belarus, labeling the elections as unfree and undemocratic. PS presidium member Ivan Korčok criticized Slovak diplomacy for its silence on the matter, contrasting it with the vocal condemnations from the European Union and its member states. This statement was made during a press conference on Wednesday, according to TASR.
The European Union and several other nations declared they would not recognize the results of the Belarusian elections even before they were officially announced. Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár (Smer-SD) has yet to issue a statement regarding the elections, a point highlighted by Korčok, who previously served as Slovakia’s foreign minister.
“I waited three days to see if Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár would comment on the events in Belarus over the weekend. The outcome is not surprising. We have grown accustomed to both the minister and Slovak diplomacy remaining silent on significant international issues. Is this really a sovereign policy? We criticize our allies while hesitating to denounce elections that were clearly manipulated,” he remarked.
Korčok also raised concerns about Slovakia planning to appoint a new ambassador to Belarus, noting that since the brutal crackdown on civil protests in 2020, only Hungary has sent an ambassador to the country among EU member states.
“With this decision, we are again distancing ourselves from our EU partners. This reflects how the government is systematically steering us away from Europe through its concrete actions,” he added.
In the recent presidential elections in Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko secured his seventh term. Western nations have accused him of autocracy and breaching essential democratic principles. According to the Belarusian human rights organization Viasna, there are over 1,250 political prisoners in the country. On election day, Lukashenko faced only symbolic challengers who do not openly dissent against him, as most prominent opposition figures are imprisoned, in exile, or barred from running by the election commission. Lukashenko has been in power since he first became president in 1994. (January 29)
“I waited three days to see if Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár would express his opinion on what happened in Belarus over the weekend. The result is not surprising. We have become accustomed to the minister and thus also Slovak diplomacy being silent on serious issues of international affairs. Is this the sovereign policy? We kick our allies, but we are afraid to condemn elections that were evidently manipulated,” Ivan Korčok
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