The conflict in Ukraine and energy supplies to Europe were the fulcrum of Tuesday's talks between Slovak House Vice-chairs Tibor Gaspar (Smer-SD) and Andrej Danko (SNS) and Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow.
According to Gaspar, after the West violated several agreements, Russia no longer sees it as a partner trustworthy enough to conclude a deal to end the war in Ukraine.
Gaspar claimed that Lavrov conveyed to him Russia's view, as to why Moscow chose to apply a military solution to the situation in Ukraine. Among the reasons listed by the Russian minister were violations of rights of Russian minority in eastern Ukraine, including the ban on the official use of Russian, said Gaspar.
Russians, however, are willing to hold talks on the end of conflict in Ukraine. "It's just that there must be someone willing to listen why they chose to deal with the situation the way they decided to," stated Gaspar. He added that Russia discovered that some past agreements are no longer being honoured, such as Minsk Treaty on the conflict in Donbass, Istanbul talks shortly after the Russian invasion began in 2022 as well as agreements from the sunset days of the Soviet Union era.
"They don't have a trustworthy partner with whom they can conclude such a peace deal," added Gaspar.
Gaspar warned that unless the causes of conflict in Ukraine, going back to 2014, are named clearly, its resolution will not be possible.
Danko added that at the meeting Lavrov talked about the issue of energy supplies to Europe and accused the United States of an attempt to damage the TurkStream pipeline, connecting the European part of Turkey and Russia via the Black Sea. According to Lavrov, the United States abetted Ukraine in Monday's (January 13) drone attack on the infrastructure of the pipeline.
The 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, Danko and 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.
Source: TASR
