Last Friday, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico accused Czechia of meddling in Slovakia’s internal affairs through its politicians and media, calling it “far beyond what is acceptable and any sense of decency.” Fico made similar comments during a meeting with diplomats, specifically addressing Czech Ambassador Rudolf Jindrák. Fico commented,
Robert Fico|Photo: René Volfík, iROZHLAS.cz
“It is not right for those from the other side of Moravia to comment, express opinions, or give advice about Slovakia’s domestic political situation.”
The Czech prime minister, Petr Fiala, repeatedly dismissed his counterpart’s accusation that the Czech political and media scene was interfering in Slovakia’s internal political affairs as “totally unreasonable and wrong.” He continued,
“I have the right to comment on Slovakia’s foreign policy if it impacts Czech interests. And if the Slovak prime minister travels to Moscow to meet Vladimir Putin while Russia continues to kill people every day, then that is not in the interest of the Czech people.”
“I do not interfere in Slovakia’s internal affairs, none of my colleagues do,” the Czech prime minister said. He noted that, unlike former prime minister, Andrej Babiš, he did not recommend to anyone in Slovakia whom people should vote for. He stressed, however, that he had the right to comment on the Slovak government’s foreign activities that could threaten Czech interests.
Jan Lipavský|Photo: Zuzana Jarolímková, iROZHLAS.cz
Fiala mentioned that the prime ministers and ministers from both nations are engaged in bilateral discussions, and he plans to meet with Fico during Monday’s EU talks in Brussels. However, he said that there is no reason to continue “intergovernmental consultations” between the two countries, which were broken off by Prague last year:
“Intergovernmental consultations are a special format between only a few countries; they are not absolutely necessary, but a bit more. And I think that under these conditions – and the foreign policy of Slovakia – they would not be appropriate and wouldn’t help anyone.”
Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský similarly rejected Fico’s accusations, with his spokesperson, Daniel Drake, clarifying that it is well within the rights of Czech politicians to express their concerns about the foreign policy of neighboring nations:
“Czechia is a democratic society and with that comes freedom of speech. We reject building these artificial walls between our two nations.”