Pellegrini Says Invitation of Lukashenko Concerns Danko and Caputova

Bratislava, June 27 (TASR) - Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini (Smer-SD) stated on Thursday in reaction to the facts that Parliamentary Chair Andrej Danko has invited Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to the Slovak National Uprising (SNP) celebrations and that President Zuzana Caputova subsequently let Lukashenko know the invitation hasn't come from the presidential level that Lukashenko"s partner is Caputova and he considers her opinion on the matter very clear. However, Pellegrini added the matter concerns Danko and Caputova, explaining that for him personally the most important guests at the event will be those who participated in the uprising directly and that he"ll discuss the list of invited guests with the President"s Office and Parliament. "The president expressed herself clearly and thus the Belarusian embassy will probably also understand it clearly and the relevant diplomatic channels will send the message. I don"t think there"s a threat that some case might arise due to this. I won"t comment on this. This is between the president and the parliamentary chair, they separately addressed this after we signed the declaration and I think they agreed on how they"ll proceed," stated Pellegrini. Pellegrini went on to add that guests he invites to events are on the prime minister level. He also doesn"t want the Slovak National Uprising celebration to become a race in how many foreign guests will pay a visit. "The celebrations are homage to those who survived the terrors of the World War II. Those are the most important guests for me... They are those who 75 years ago participated in the uprising," said Pellegrini, noting this is also the official opinion of Foreign Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajcak (Smer-SD). Danko said he's insisting on the invitation. He is of the opinion that it would be an honour if the celebrations were attended by representatives of various countries, including Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. "The prime minister and I would like to host at the celebrations the most senior representatives of those countries which participated in Slovakia"s liberation," said Danko, adding that the invitation has been consulted and that it should be the Belarusian prime minister who"ll most likely attend the celebrations. Danko invited Lukashenko during his visit to Belarus which took place in early June. Caputova on Thursday announced that the invitation wasn"t on the presidential level. Lajcak noted that if Danko invited Lukashenko without Caputova"s knowledge it was a diplomatic misstep, explaining that such invitations must come from the initiative of a partner, meaning that a president must be invited by another president. zel/mcs