- The Ukrainian head of diplomacy thanked Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia for banning Fico’s flight.
- Ukraine called on other countries to block the Slovak government flight as well.
- Fico already chose the southern air route last year because of the Baltic ban.
Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andriy Sybiha thanked Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia in a post on the X social network on Monday for refusing to allow Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico to use their airspace for his trip to Moscow. TASR informs about it.
“I thank Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania for taking a strong stance against the use of their airspace to deepen relations with Russia. For those who have forgotten, Russia continues to wage a war of aggression against Ukraine, posing a direct threat to European security and international order. Firm and sustained pressure must continue until Russia is held fully accountable.” written by Sybiha.
Ukrainian minister at the same time he called on other countries to take an example from the Baltic countries and they refused the government special with Fico to fly through their territory. “Let’s replace lack of awareness with lack of air routes,” he added.
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna announced on Sunday that his country would not allow Fico to fly through its territory during the trip to Moscow for the Victory Day celebrations on May 9. The Prime Minister announced on Saturday that he will not receive permission from Lithuania and Latvia either.
Due to the disapproval of the Baltic states, Fico already flew a government special on a longer, southern route last year through Hungary, Romania and the Black Sea region. Last year, in addition to participating in the celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, he also held bilateral negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and leaders of other countries in Moscow.
