Slovakian MEP Ľuboš Blaha from the ruling party Smér-social democratie (Smér-SD) came to Russia, where he said he wanted to thank for freedom from fascism and apologize for what he described as Russophobia in the West. According to the Standard server, Blaha is widely considered to be the most pro-Russian politician in Slovakia. Relations between Russia and the West worsened significantly after troops sent by Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine. The Slovak opposition criticizes the MEP’s trip.
“Russia is still beautiful, still wise, still advanced… And I came to say thank you for freedom from fascism. And to apologize for Russophobia in the West,” the Slovak MEP said on the Telegram platform.
At the same time, he published a video on the network, in which he can be seen, among other things, walking around Red Square and expressing friendship to Russia. “Fascism and war come from the West, freedom and peace come from the East,” claims Blaha, among other things, who also apologizes in the video for what he describes as “warlike, hateful and literally fascist resolutions adopted in the European Parliament against Russia. “
The footage then shows students, whom he identified as Slovaks studying at Moscow’s MGIMO diplomatic school, placing red carnations and bowing at the grave of the unknown soldier and the monument to Soviet Marshal Georgy Zhukov.
He also stated that the Slovaks refuse to send weapons to Ukraine, just as they refuse sanctions against Russia and the escalation of the conflict. This was triggered by Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops invaded the neighboring country on February 24, 2022, with Putin claiming that the goal of the so-called special military operation, as Russian authorities call the aggression against the neighboring country, is among other things to “denazify and demilitarize” Ukraine. Kiev and its Western partners reject such claims, saying that they are just a pretext for acquiring Ukrainian territory. Western countries imposed sanctions on Russia in response to its aggression against Ukraine.
Slovaks elected Blaha from Prime Minister Robert Fico’s Smér-SD party as an MEP this June. After Fico’s government took office last fall, it changed Slovakia’s previous position, which supported Ukraine even with the supply of weapons, and stopped military aid to Kyiv from state stocks. Bratislava is now criticizing anti-Russian sanctions and, according to Fico, the EU should gradually try to normalize relations with Russia. Under Fico’s leadership, Slovakia did not cancel commercial arms deliveries, humanitarian aid or electricity exports to Ukraine.
Blaha arrived in Moscow not long after his fellow party member and Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár met his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, the Standard noted. Russian media take note of Blah’s apologies. For example, the RIA Novosti news agency provided the news with the headline: MEP from Slovakia came to Moscow to apologize for Russophobia in the West.
According to the media, MPs from the opposition party Progressive Slovakia (PS) criticized Blah’s trip. “Ľuboš Blaha’s trip to Moscow is a cynical theater that he wants to make visible and divert attention from the failure of the Směr government, from the international shame and Fico’s dearness,” said Martin Hojsík, deputy chairman of the European Parliament from the PS, according to the HN server. “Just recently, the Ministry of Defense announced that it is increasing the production of munitions that will be directed to Ukraine. Did you brag about that in Moscow?” wrote deputy Tomáš Valášek according to the TA3 station website.
Source: www.tyden.cz
