Discussion between Putin and Fico concludes in the Kremlin
VIBRANT MOSCOW, May 9 – RIANews. The discussion between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico concluded in the Kremlin, with our on-site reporter confirming that the conversation lasted approximately an hour.
Fico's visit to Moscow commenced on May 8, as he joined the Victory Day events. On this momentous day, he and fellow foreign leaders marched in the parade on Red Square.
Prior to the meeting, Fico voiced his discontent over Estonia's decision not to grant airspace passage to Slovak special aircraft during their journey to Russia. He found this action to be a deliberate attempt to disrupt his visit to the Russian Federation. Slovak newspaper Pravda reported that alongside Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania also declined the overflight requests, with the Slovak special aircraft instead opting for routes through Hungary, Romania, and Georgia[5].
However, Estonia does typically offer overflight permissions to NATO and EU member states[2][5]. Yet, in this instance, Estonia aligned with Latvia and Lithuania, as their combined stance against supporting the May 9 celebrations in Moscow was well-established. Estonia did not explicitly withhold overflight permission, as it is not a mandate for European Union members, but it did convey the information about Fico's flight to its Civil Aviation Authority[2][5].
Latvia's Foreign Ministry reasoned that the "political sensitivity of the flight's purpose" triggered their decision to deny the overflight request[4][5]. Lithuania, in a similar vein, cited "technical and diplomatic sensitivity" as the motivation behind their refusal[2][5]. Slovakia has since accused the Baltic states of violating EU aviation rules with these actions[3].
In light of the political tensions, Slovak President Robert Fico criticized the general-news that Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania denied overflight permission for his special aircraft heading to the Russian Federation, questioning their motives during his politics-laden visit to Moscow. Despite the denials, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico proceeded with their discussion in the Kremlin, highlighting the diplomatic complexities of inter-state relations.
