Representatives of the opposition Smer-SD party commemorated the 78th anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising in Zvolen, Banska Bystrica region on Monday. Smer-SD invited Russian Ambassador to Slovakia Igor Bratčikov as an honorary guest to its celebrations of the SNP in Zvolen. A speech was given also by a representative of the Embassy of Belarus. Fico claimed that Smer-SD had extended invitations to countries of the former Soviet Union as well as those that supported the SNP, but aside from representatives of Russia and Belarus, all others excused themselves from attending. Representatives of the Russian Federation and Belarus were absent from the state commemoration ceremony of the 78th anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising in Banska Bystrica by design, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď confirmed to TASR press agency on Monday. "The Russian Federation and Belarus carry out military aggression in Ukraine and they also put our country on the list of enemies," said Naď. Prime Minister Eduard Heger strongly condemned opposition party Smer-SD for this act. In his social network post, Heger claimed that Smer-SD has insulted the legacy of the Uprising's victims and all anti-fascist fighters in Slovakia. "This is what collaboration with war criminals looks like; this is how they applaud the spilling of the blood of the innocent," he wrote. The Foreign and European Affairs Ministry will convey a note of protest to Russian Ambassador to Slovakia Igor Bratčikov over his public display of support for the opposition Smer-SD party, chief of Slovak diplomacy Ivan Korčok announced in his post on a social network on Monday. He condemned the participation of the Russian Ambassador in a "political rally held under the veneer of the SNP" and criticised the fact that the ambassador's speech had received wide applause. Korčok pointed out that it's Russia that is waging war in Ukraine.
Source: TASR
