Slovak parliamentarians speak out against anti-Russian sanctions, Czech Republic maintains course to increase pressure on Russia
The Slovak parliament has approved a resolution to lift sanctions on Russia, the Slovak newspaper Dennik N has reported.
The vote was proposed by the ruling Slovak National Party (SNP), but opposition representatives were absent - out of 75 deputies present at the meeting, 51 voted "for," 23 abstained, and one deputy spoke out against. The Slovak parliament has 150 seats in total.
The resolution obliges members of the Slovak government not to vote for anti-Russian sanctions in international organizations and communities, Slovak media reports.
Meanwhile, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said that the Czech Republic sees no reason to lift anti-Russian sanctions. He made the statement after the resolution was adopted by the Slovak parliament.
"The role of Czech diplomacy is not to evaluate the domestic political decisions of partners, but it is important to emphasize that the Czech Republic sees no reason to lift anti-Russian sanctions," Lipavsky replied. According to the foreign minister, further pressure should be exerted on Putin. "This decision is in the interests of the security of EU citizens, in particular Czech and Slovak citizens," he added.