Bye-Bye, Shortcut: Baltic States Foil Fico's Moscow Trip Via Detour
Baltic countries prohibit air travel for Fico's flight to Moscow.
Get ready for some ropey navigation, pals! Robert Fico, our Slovak Prime Minister, is on his way to Moscow to mark the end of World War II. The catch? The Baltic states have turned a cheek to his aircraft, forcing Fico to take the long way round!
According to AirNav, Fico's flight, descending from Bratislava, had to fly over Hungary, Romania, the Black Sea, and Georgia before finally landing in Dagestan, Russia. Under normal circumstances, aircraft traveling between Russia and Europe would fly over Lithuania's airspace. However, the forced detour follows the EU's 2021 sanctions, prohibiting European airlines from crossing Belarus' airspace.
The fresh air will be a welcome change for Fico, who's the only EU head of state and government attending the Moscow celebrations. Yet, the gathering hasn't come without criticism. EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, urged EU leaders to dodge Russia's military celebrations.
Lithuania and Latvia announced that they would bar Fico and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic's flights to Moscow, while Estonia refused to grant flight clearance. And what about ol' Robert Fico? Well, he shared his frustrations on Facebook: "Estonia has informed us that it will not allow us to fly over its territory. This makes our schedule extremely challenging."
With over two dozen foreign dignitaries attending, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Fico's controversial move to ignore the EU's boycott and jet off to Moscow isn't going unnoticed, considering Slovakia's reliance on Russian gas and Fico's strong criticism of EU policies towards Russia and Ukraine[2][3][4].
Sources:- ntv.de- mdi/rts
- Slovakia
- Baltics
- Moscow
- Russia
- World War II
- EU
- In an unusual turn of events, Slovakia's Prime Minister, Robert Fico, is following a detour to reach Moscow for the World War II commemoration, due to the Baltic states denying his aircraft's flight clearance.
- Despite the EU's sanctions and the Baltic states' resistance, Fico is still set to attend the Moscow celebrations, making him the only EU head of state and government to do so.
- The EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, has advised EU leaders to avoid Russia's military celebrations, but Fico has chosen to disregard this advice.
- The decision by Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia to bar Fico and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic's flights to Moscow has caused frustration for Fico, who has expressed difficulty in modifying his schedule due to these restrictions.
