I won't resign from my post come 15 September, Environment Minister Tomas Taraba (SNS nominee) stated in response to a journalist's question following a meeting with local government representatives on Tuesday.
Taraba also said that Deputy Environment Ministry Filip Kuffa will not become environment minister. In his video response posted on social media, Kuffa in turn described Taraba as a breaker of unity among patriotic forces.
"I certainly will not resign on 15 September. They can set whatever dates they want," Taraba claimed in response to remarks by Roman Michelko, who chairs the SNS parliamentary caucus and expects Taraba to leave his post by mid-September.
Taraba again ruled out moving into diplomacy. "I have never shown interest in any post in my life, I do not want any, and I am not negotiating about any," he said. He is also convinced that Kuffa will not become minister.
SNS leader Andrej Danko said in mid-August that the situation surrounding Environment Minister Taraba must be resolved by 15 September, when the next session of Parliament begins. According to Danko, relations between Taraba and the party that nominated him have not improved, and Taraba should therefore leave his office. He confirmed that the nominee for a new environment minister should be current Deputy Environment Minister Filip Kuffa. Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) said at the time that nobody had yet discussed the new deadline with him.
In May, Taraba, Danko and Fico agreed that if reconciliation between the environment minister and SNS was not achieved, Taraba would leave office by the end of September. The agreement ended an open dispute between the party and its nominee.
Source: TASR
