Gaspar: Leaders of Big Countries Should Also Listen to Russians on Ukraine

Moscow, January 14 (TASR-correspondent) - Parliamentary representatives learnt from Speaker of the Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian Parliament, Valentina Matviyenko, the detailed views of Russia on the conflict in Ukraine, Slovak House Vice-chairs Andrej Danko (Slovak National Party/SNS) and Tibor Gaspar (Smer-SD) concurred at a press briefing following their meeting. According to Gaspar, Russia expects that this year there could be moves towards restoring peace in Ukraine. Gaspar went on to say that it's forbidden in Slovakia to give some thought to whether the conflict in Ukraine was provoked or not. He also recommended that the leaders of larger European countries should listen directly to the views of the Russian side - "if they have a real interest in restoring peace". Danko is convinced that relations with Russia will eventually be restored also by the European Union, pointing out that Russia is a large state that can't be ignored. He appreciated the fact that representatives of both SNS and Smer-SD went to Moscow together. "I considered it my duty after the 2020-2023 period to leave a message here on behalf of the people who voted for our coalition that there are other views in Slovakia than those voiced by the opposition leaders," said Danko, noting that politicians should go where they can achieve the most for Slovakia. "Let everyone do the best they can for the Slovak Republic and let everyone travel where they have contacts and friends," stated Danko. am/mcs