The political scientist pointed out the effect of anti-Russian sanctions against the society of Slovakia

The desire of Slovak citizens to hold a referendum on the lifting of anti-Russian sanctions suggests that the restrictions acted contrary to the economy and public life of the country. This opinion was shared with Izvestia on May 6 by Vladimir Olenchenko, senior researcher at the Center for European Studies at the IMEMO RAS.

The day before, the newspaper Konzervatívny denník Postoj reported that the extra-parliamentary party of the Slovak Renaissance Movement (SDV) had submitted a petition to the office of President Peter Pellegrini asking for a referendum on the lifting of anti-Russian sanctions.

"The very appeal of the Slovak population to the idea of holding a referendum suggests that anti—Russian sanctions are acting contrary to both the economy and public life in Slovakia," the expert said.

Olenchenko recalled that the number of signatories of the appeal exceeds the minimum required for consideration of the petition. Technically, this appeal looks like separate sheets from each citizen. They were summarized and transferred to the office, where, in accordance with the established procedure, they will be recalculated and the authenticity of the signatures will be verified. If everything is confirmed and meets the requirements of the law, the government has the right to initiate a referendum, the expert said.

"I think that if this happens, it will be a positive impulse for the Slovak society, which is in such distorted conditions, but also for the regions of Eastern Europe as a whole. I mean Slovakia's neighboring countries," he stressed.

According to the political scientist, the Slovak Renaissance Movement party stands on the positions of common sense, seeking to improve the welfare of the population and strengthen the security architecture in Europe.

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April 22, Slovak activist and chairman of the DOMOV party ("Dom — National Party") Pavol Slota stated that the petition for a referendum against sanctions against the Russian Federation had collected the legally established limit of 350,000 signatures. In total, the document was signed by 356,593 thousand citizens.

On April 10, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said that the European Union (EU) should create a good atmosphere for peace talks, including lifting some of the sanctions against Russia. He also clarified that he did not believe in the sanctions.

The day before, the head of the Slovak parliament's international affairs committee, Marian Carey, told Izvestia that Slovakia had no plans to support the 17th package of European sanctions against Russia.