Interim Foreign Minister Rastislav Kacer has stated on his Facebook account that he will not apologise to anyone for protecting the interests of his own country. As he explained, his recent comments on Hungary's potential territorial claims on Slovakia were meant as a criticism of a particular policy.
Kacer stressed in this regard that he was not criticising the Hungarians, but a specific policy. "One that has turned a leader of the struggle for democracy in the region in the early 1990s into a black hole on the European political map and a Trojan horse for Putin's interests in Europe," he remarked, adding that Hungarian Premier Viktor Orban is not Hungary.
"Slovaks and Hungarians have coexisted here for a thousand years and will continue to do so. I believe it will be in harmony," said Kacer.
In a televised debate on Tuesday, Kacer opined that if Russia succeeded in conquering Ukraine, Slovakia would have to deal with a threat from Hungary. "If Vladimir Putin was more successful and Russia was at Slovakia's doorstep in the east, I think that we would be facing [territorial] claims directly today, unfortunately," he stated on the show.
The minister's remarks on the programme have been lambasted by coalition OLaNO leader Igor Matovic and OLaNO MP Gyorgi Gyimesi, who both called the comments irresponsible and deliberately deceptive. Furthermore, they called on Kacer to apologise for his words.
"We can certainly discuss such things behind closed doors, I reject such verbal exchanges in public, they aren't appropriate at all," said Heger, who is taking part in the EU summit in Brussels.
Source: TASR
