“I’m going to Moscow”: Slovak Prime Minister Fico rejected the EU’s call not to attend the May 9 parade in Russia

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, responding to comments by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas regarding attendance at the May 9 Victory Day parade in Russia, announced that he will attend the event in Moscow — and that no one has the right to forbid him from doing so.

Fico published his statement on his official Facebook page.

“EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas is warning EU leaders against attending the May Victory Day celebration in Moscow. I am going to Moscow on May 9. Ms. Kallas, I would like to inform you that I am the legitimate Prime Minister of Slovakia — a sovereign state. No one can dictate where I should or shouldn’t travel. I will go to Moscow to pay tribute to the thousands of Red Army soldiers who died liberating Slovakia, as well as the millions of other victims of Nazi barbarism. Just as I paid tribute to the victims of the Normandy landings, in the Pacific, and to the RAF pilots — I will do the same in Moscow. I remind you that, unlike most in the EU, I consistently call for peace in Ukraine and do not belong to the ranks of zealous supporters of prolonging this senseless war. Ms. Kallas’s remarks are disrespectful, and I object to them,” Fico wrote.

Meanwhile, The Telegraph reports that Serbia may be denied EU membership if President Aleksandar Vučić attends the Victory Day parade in Moscow.

EU officials have reportedly warned Vučić that such a visit would violate the bloc’s membership criteria and could damage Serbia’s accession ambitions.

“We need to make sure they understand that certain decisions have consequences. One such consequence is that they do not join the European Union,” said Jonatan Vseviov, Secretary General of Estonia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Earlier, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned of “consequences” for any European leaders who choose to attend the 80th anniversary Victory Day celebrations in Moscow.