Danko: Poland Lies About Our Flyover, Warsaw Should Apologise

Moscow/Bratislava, January 14 (TASR) - House Vice-chair Andrej Danko (SNS) accused Poland of lying in the case of the flyover of the Slovak Government aircraft across Poland to Moscow, whereas the Polish Embassy to Slovakia responded by voicing its surprise at Danko's claim that Poland had refused to grant permission for the flyover, TASR learnt from its special correspondent. "I'm very saddened at the lie that the Polish side literally resorted to, as it's certainly not up to us, on the plane, to decide our flight route. If it were, we would hardly choose to make our flight an hour longer when the direct path is possible," claimed Danko. Danko expects the Slovak Foreign and European Affairs Ministry to take a stance on the issue. "I fail to understand how an EU member state dares to do this to Slovakia's state aircraft and I hope they'll apologise to us," he declared in Moscow. The Slovak parliamentary delegation, headed by Danko and Tibor Gaspar (Smer-SD) didn't fly the shortest route to Moscow, but took a circuitous way through Czech and German airspace. Danko claims that this was due to Poland's refusal to give permission for their flight to Moscow. On Monday (January 13), the Polish Embassy reported that Warsaw had received a request from Slovakia to grant clearance for the flyover, but due to the incomplete documentation had asked Bratislava to submit the lacking documents, including a standard note. However, the Slovak side, according to the Embassy, decided to alter the route of its flight instead. In this respect, Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosniak-Kamysz told the Rzeczpospolita daily that ties between Poland and Slovakia are good and he invites Slovak partners to fly to Warsaw instead of Moscow. The Slovak delegation is slated to return home from Russia on January 15. mf/mcs