Fico in Moscow: what did he achieve?
Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico was the only EU leader to attend the Russian Victory Day celebrations in Moscow on 9 May. Apart from making headlines, the trip achieved nothing, the press criticises.
Fatal for foreign policy
Denník Postoj writes:
“Internationally speaking, Fico's participation in Putin's celebrations in Moscow has been the most damaging event for Slovakia since the end of the Mečiar era in 1998. Whereas during his visit to the Kremlin at the turn of the year, Fico was at least able to give the impression that he wanted to find a pragmatic solution to a gas problem, this latest visit was purely an expression of sympathy with the Russian regime. The Slovakian prime minister deliberately allowed himself to be drawn into Putin's instrumentalisation of the anniversary of WWII to advance Russia's current imperialist goals. A fatal step from the perspective of our allies.”
Unpleasant memories of state founder Mečiar
Český rozhlas comments:
“Through his actions Fico is doing everything he can to widen the divide between the EU and Slovakia. He can then use this distance as a pretext to seek allies elsewhere – in Russia, Central Asia or China. One of his predecessors, Vladimír Mečiar, already did the same thing. He famously declared 'If the West doesn't want us, we'll turn to the East'. The result was the unprecedented isolation of Slovakia, which effectively disappeared from the map of Europe for several years in which not a single head of state visited the country. ... And when someone starts ignoring you, it's often far worse than when they constantly criticise you.”
Failed damage limitation
The trip was also a flop for Fico personally, writes Új Szó:
“He had hoped that his determination would be rewarded with new Smer memberships. In the end he backed out somewhat, because he didn't attend the military parade. He only visited the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier near the walls of the Kremlin [with Putin and other official guests]. He was clearly trying to defuse the protests in his own country and the disapproval in Brussels, but this hardly succeeded at home. ... Putin didn't care about this change of plan anyway. For him, the main function of the Slovakian prime minister was to ensure that his propaganda machine could loudly proclaim that the EU has failed to isolate him.”