Monitor: Blanar: Czech Gov't Joins Slovak Presidential Campaign

(RTVS, 'O 5 minut 12', March 10) The decision of the Czech Cabinet to discontinue the intergovernmental consultations with Slovakia is beyond all understanding, Foreign and European Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) stated on RTVS's discussion programme 'O 5 minut 12' (Five Minutes to Twelve) on Sunday and added that this step constitutes interference by the Czech Government with Slovakia's presidential election campaign. Blanar's opposite number on the show, lawmaker Martin Dubeci (Progressive Slovakia) rejected such interpretation and pointed out that the Czech Government's move is a standard tool of diplomacy. "It's a clear diplomatic signal indicating the worsening of Czech-Slovak ties [...] It's the consequence of so-called sovereign foreign policy," said Dubeci, who pointed out to criticism of Slovakia's foreign policy also by other states. "We're on the fast track to isolation." Blanar responded that the foreign affairs ministry under his leadership is conducting foreign policy oriented towards all four cardinal directions and underlined that the Czech Government has cancelled only a single meeting thus far. "They instantly added that the Visegrad Four group (V4: Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia) will continue," he said. In Blanar's view, Slovakia and the Czech Republic enjoy above-average ties and the decision taken by the Czech Government won't change that. Dubeci also blasted other foreign affairs activities of the Slovak Government, for instance, Blanar's recent meeting with Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov. Blanar responded by pointing out that the meeting took place as part of a diplomatic forum. "I told him [Lavrov] that the war in Ukraine is a violation of international right and that it's necessary to seek a peaceful solution," he claimed. Blanar and Lavrov allegedly discussed also Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's peace plan, with Blanar concluding that the plan stands zero odds of success. Blanar confirmed that Slovakia hasn't been invited to a teleconference on Ukraine in France, a fact that he perceives as understandable. "They've realized that we won't support this warmongering," he said. mf