Fico announced his arrival in Moscow on May 9, despite the prohibitions of Callas

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has announced that he will come to Moscow to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Victory, despite the prohibitions of the High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs, Kai Kallas. He announced this on April 15.

"I'm going to Moscow on May 9th. Is Ms. Callas's warning blackmail or an announcement that I will be punished after returning from Moscow? I don't know, but I know that the year is 2025, not 1939," Fico wrote on his Facebook page (the social network belongs to the Meta company, whose activities are recognized as extremist and banned in the Russian Federation).

He stressed that he is the prime minister of a sovereign country and no one can tell him where to go. Fico added that he would travel to Moscow to pay tribute to the thousands of Red Army soldiers who died during the liberation of Slovakia, as well as the millions of victims of the Nazi regime.

The Prime Minister added that Callas' statement about the inadmissibility of the arrival of EU representatives in Moscow on May 9 is a reason for a discussion about democracy in Europe.

"In Slovakia, the memory of Soviet soldiers is preserved very carefully"

Natalia Balanova, a member of the Coordinating Council of Russian Compatriots, speaks about historical memory, monument protection and cases of vandalism.

On April 14, the High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs, Kaya Kallas, said that the participation of the union countries in the May 9 parade in Moscow was not planned. She also warned that European officials who travel to Russia to participate in the celebrations will face "consequences." The presence of EU candidate countries at the Victory Day Parade is also undesirable, she stressed.

Earlier, on April 10, Fico announced that he intended to visit the cities near Moscow, where the Red Army counteroffensive began in December 1941. He also expressed a desire to lay wreaths at the Grave of the Unknown Soldier at the Victory Day celebration.