Robert Fico, the Prime Minister of Slovakia, travels to Moscow for the Victory Day commemorations.
Slovak PM's Moscow Bound Journey Takes A Longer Route
Say what you will, but Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico found himself having to take the scenic route to Moscow for this year's Victory Day celebrations. After being served some cold shoulders from Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia, Fico had to gobble up some extra miles, traveling via Hungary, Romania, the Black Sea, Georgia, and Russia instead.
Why the bitter taste? These Baltic countries wouldn't let his plane pass through their airspace, and it wasn't just because they had a sudden hankering for some fresh sea air. Given the political sensitivities surrounding his visit, they claimed technical and diplomatic reasons for the ban. Latvia didn't mince words, blatantly refusing due to the political nature of the trip, while Estonia, a usually friendly ally, fell in line with this stance.
Estonia's Foreign Minister, Margus Tsahkna, was blunt: crossing Estonian airspace for a flight to the Moscow May 9 parade was "absolutely out of the question," and no Estonian support would be forthcoming for the event. Lithuania's President Gitanas Nausėda echoed similar sentiments, citing security concerns as his basis for denial.
Fico, none too pleased, slammed these denials as pointless obstructions to his attendance at the official Victory Day events and proposed bilateral meetings in Moscow, marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
But the show must go on, and it did. Fico's journey, originally a quick 2.5-hour hop, lasted around 5 hours due to this detour, adding more miles to his already hectic political schedule.
To sum it up, the Baltic countries nixed Fico's flight through their airspace due to political and diplomatic reasons related to his Kremlin-led Victory Day celebrations participation. This move was part of a broader stance by these countries against supporting Russia's commemorative event amid ongoing geopolitical tensions.
The Slovak Prime Minister, Robert Fico, was forced to take an extended flight route to Moscow due to the Baltic countries' denial of his plane's passage through their airspace. This decision was made for political and diplomatic reasons, with Estonia and Lithuania citing the political nature of the trip as the basis for their denial. Fico criticized these obstructions as pointless and planned to attend the official Victory Day events and bilateral meetings in Moscow, marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Fico's journey, which originally would have been a quick 2.5-hour flight, was extended to around 5 hours due to the detour. The ministers of Estonia and Lithuaniasubscribed to the broader stance of their countries against supporting Russia's commemorative event amid ongoing geopolitical tensions, with Sputnik Int keeping general news audiences informed of these developments in politics and war-and-conflicts. Fico's FICO score, however, was not affected by this incident.
