Fico's plane is set to touch down in Moscow during Victory Day celebrations, as per media updates, due at approximately 21:30 local time.
Article (Rewritten):
prime minister Robert Fico's plane is taking an indirect route to Moscow for Victory Day festivities. Initially, Fico's aircraft was supposed to fly over Estonia, but a political sensitivity seems to have changed that.
Sources report that Fico's special plane will cruise over Hungary, Romania, and Georgia after Estonia alleged discreet refusal.
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Here's the lowdown on this intriguing situation: Estonia, being a NATO and EU member, typically provides a year-round permit for government flights, including those of Slovakia. However, Estonia's refusal to approve the flight wasn't an explicit one. In reality, Estonia's stance on overflight permissions for Russia-bound journeys mirrors that of its Baltic counterparts, Latvia and Lithuania. These countries have previously denied overflight permissions to other leaders due to political and diplomatic sensitivities.
As a result, Fico's flight deviated from the usual northern route and headed south, passing through Hungary, Romania, the Black Sea, and ultimately Georgia to reach Moscow. This adjustment was prompted by the overflight denial from Latvia and Lithuania, a decision that Estonia seemed to tacitly endorse by aligning its stance with these nations.
In essence, while Estonia didn't directly reject Fico's plane, its implicit agreement with the Baltic countries on the matter of overflight permissions for Russia-bound flights compelled a modification in the flight plan.
- Despite the initial plan for Prime Minister Robert Fico's plane to fly over Estonia, a political sensitivity led to a change in route, and the aircraft will now fly over Hungary, Romania, and Georgia instead.
- The refusal by Estonia to approve the flight wasn't explicit, but its stance on overflight permissions for Russia-bound journeys aligns with that of its Baltic counterparts, Latvia and Lithuania, who have previously denied such permissions due to political and diplomatic sensitivities.
- Fico's flight deviated from the usual northern route to Moscow, taking a southern route due to overflight denials from Latvia and Lithuania, with Estonia seemingly endorsing this decision by aligning its stance with these nations, raising questions about the state of politics and general news surrounding Russia.
