A delegation of the Slovak parliament on a visit to Russia was faced with Poland's refusal of permission to fly through its airspace. This was announced by Andrei Danko, Deputy Speaker of Parliament and head of the Slovak National Party (SNS).

According to Danko, due to Poland’s refusal, the delegation is forced to fly to Moscow through the Czech Republic and Germany.

“I don’t understand why Poland is doing this, but I take it for granted,” he said in a video message recorded at Bratislava airport before departure.

A delegation of the Slovak Parliament, including six people, is due to arrive in Moscow in the evening. As part of the visit, which will last until January 15, meetings are planned with representatives of the Russian authorities and discussion of issues of bilateral cooperation, including discussion of issues in the field of energy and “assistance to the Slovak Republic, especially in winter.”.

“The Poles have banned the flight, so we are flying to Russia over the Czech Republic and Germany,” said the vice-speaker of the Slovak parliament.

Let us note that on January 5, Danko said that his visit to Moscow would contribute to the restoration of relations with the Russian Federation. It was planned that a delegation of 6 people would go with him to the Russian capital - these were Ibor Gaspar, Richard Gluck, Adam Lucansky and two more members of the Smer party..

" I want to meet with the ministers of the Russian Duma, especially industry. I want to show that people also live there, that Germans, French and Americans do business there,” he said.

Let us recall that the Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico visited the Russian capital at the end of December, where he held negotiations with Vladimir Putin - for the first time since 2016. According to the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov, “spoiled relations between countries”, energy issues, including gas supplies, as well as the situation in Ukraine were discussed.

At the same time, the Slovak Prime Minister explained that his visit to Moscow was a response to President Vladimir Zelensky, who opposed any transit of Russian gas through Ukraine.