Slovak National Party (SNS) calls for the dismissal of the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces (OS) of the Slovak Republic, Daniel Zmek. He appeals to Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) to present the proposal to the President of the Slovak Republic, Peter Pellegrini. The call is related to the suspension of criminal prosecution in the matter of the donation of MiG-29 fighters and the S-300 anti-missile system. TASR was informed about this by party spokesperson Zuzana Škopcová
SNS claims that the prosecution was stopped also on the basis of repeated opinions of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic, according to which no damage was caused to Slovakia and the donated military material was marked as surplus property. “It is an indisputable fact that if the Minister of Defense Robert Kaliňák (Smer-SD) publicly expressed his disapproval of stopping the criminal prosecution in the matter in question, it is inconceivable that the President of the Slovak Republic, on the other hand, would not act and keep Daniel Zmek in the position of Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic,” stated the nationalists.
According to the SNS, Zmeko, as the Chief of the General Staff, provided cooperation in the evaluation and assessment of the donation of material. “It is therefore understandable that he cannot take a position that could lead to the renewal or deepening of the criminal prosecution against his subordinates, or against himself,” pointed out Škopcová.
The party therefore appeals to the president to remove Zmek from his position as the supreme commander of the armed forces and at the same time, on the proposal of the Minister of Defense and on the basis of the government’s decision, appoint a new Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces. According to SNS, the new chief should reassess the donation of technology and should be interested in an objective investigation of the donation of MiG-29 aircraft and the S-300 system.
Law enforcement agencies closed three of the four criminal prosecutions related to aid to Ukraine during the last election period. By stopping the criminal prosecution or rejecting the criminal complaint, they closed the cases of the donation of MiG-29 fighters, the S-300 anti-aircraft system, and the case of termination of the contract with the Russian company providing fighter service. The police continue to investigate the handover of technical documentation to the military attache of Ukraine.
The Ministry of Defense reported that submits an initiative to review the decisions. Regional the prosecutor’s office insists on the presented conclusions.
