Slovak Parliament Chairman Approves of Russias Annexation of Crimea

Bratislava, Nov 23 (CTK) – Andrej Danko, parliament chairman and head of the government Slovak National Party (SNS), would not condemn the Russian annexation of Crimea today, unlike other Slovak politicians addressed by journalists, and he spoke against expedient sanctions being imposed if a dialogue failed.

 

“I don’t feel being a historian, an expert entitled to say yes or no about this matter. Every nation has the right to live in a state unit along with those with whom it shares roots or feels linked together. Of course, there is the post-war arrangement in Europe, which should be preserved,” Danko told reporters who asked him to express his position on the annexation of Crimea.

 

Danko said the declaration of independence by Kosovo, a former Serbian province, is a case similar to Crimea’s.

 

The same criteria should be applied to such situations, he said.

 

He took a reserved attitude to the imposition of sanctions such as those the West imposed on Russia.

 

“We should neither invent expedient sanctions because of the dialogue failing on the supreme level, nor should we silently tolerate the business deals of the powerful people who have proposed these sanctions,” Danko said.

 

Slovakia, in its new security strategy, has labelled the annexation of Crimea an extraordinarily concerning case of a violation of the fundamental principles and standards of international law.

 

Prime Minister Robert Fico, who has been critical of the anti-Russian sanctions, previously repeated that the annexation of Crimea violated the international law.

 

In the past days, Danko faced criticism, mainly from the domestic opposition, for the statements he made during his recent visit to Moscow.

 

In a speech in the Russian Duma, the lower house of parliament, Danko praised Russia’s capability of solving problems by means of a dialogue, and he spoke about mutual closeness of Slavic nations.

 

Slovak parliament’s foreign committee head Frantisek Sebej (government Most-Hid), later said Danko’s Moscow speech was not compatible with Slovakia’s foreign political orientation.

 

Reacting to him, Danko stood up in defence of his speech.