Slovak PM says Russia must ‘heed rules’

BRATISLAVA — Russia can be a partner but only if it respects the rules of the international system, Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger told AFP on Wednesday as the Russian and US presidents held a summit meeting in Geneva.

Slovakia, an EU and NATO member of 5.4 million people, is one of the most pro-Russia countries in post-communist Europe and has often positioned itself as a bridge between Russia and the West.

“Slovakia’s position is that we want to build good relationships also with Russia but it must be according to the rules, according to the international treaties, according to our laws,” Heger said, speaking on Tuesday on the sidelines of the Globsec Forum in the Slovak capital Bratislava.

Tensions have flared between the West and Russia on several issues, including Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, support for Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko and the near-fatal poisoning of opposition figure Alexei Navalny.

Sputnik controversy 

Heger came to power in April after his predecessor resigned over a purchase of Russian Sputnik V vaccines that proved controversial among coalition allies concerned about Russian influence.

Foreign Minister Ivan Korcok called the vaccine a “hybrid war tool”, echoing a frequent criticism that Russia could be using Sputnik supplies as a way of sowing division among European allies.

Slovakia is now only the second European Union member state alongside Hungary to be using Sputnik even though the jab has not been authorised by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

Heger said the purchase was made because of a lack of supplies at the time but that, given the low take-up of Sputnik in Slovakia, “I don’t think that such a decision would be made” again.

The Slovak government later on Wednesday announced that it would halt the possibility of signing up for a Sputnik vaccine on June 30.

“We will give away or sell the unused doses,” Health Minister Vladimir Lengvarsky told journalists.

Despite the political furore over Sputnik, Russia remains relatively popular in Slovakia — in contrast to some of its Central European neighbours.

A poll of 10 countries conducted for the Globsec Forum found that 47 per cent of Slovaks see Russia as their country’s most important strategic partner — the highest level in the region.

Only 17 per cent chose the United States, the second lowest level after Hungary on 13 per cent, according to the poll of 10,000 people conducted in March.

The poll also showed that 55 per cent of Slovaks view Russian President Vladimir Putin positively — the second highest level after Bulgaria.

Putin and US President Joe Biden faced off on Wednesday at a tense summit where ghosts of the Cold War hovered over modern-day US concerns about Russian cyber attacks and what the White House sees as a dangerous authoritarian rift.

Putin, however, argues that Moscow is simply challenging US hegemony, part of a bid to promote a so-called “multipolar” world.

‘A lot of patience’ 

Heger also promised a series of ambitious economic reforms as his country begins to recover from the pandemic and said he would fight to keep the fractious four-party ruling coalition together.

For several weeks earlier this year, Slovakia had some of the highest per capita COVID-19 infection and mortality rates in the world.

Heger blamed that on the rapid spread in Slovakia of the Alpha variant, first identified in Britain.

“We were probably the first country that had the British variant in the region and it spread very quickly,” said Heger, adding that efforts were hampered by “no unity in the political arena”.

Heger said his government is also intent on pushing ahead with a sweeping anti-corruption drive that began when his political movement OLaNO came to power in the February 2020 general election.

Dozens of high-ranking officials, politicians, judges, prosecutors and police chiefs have since been taken into custody for alleged corruption.

Heger said the “cleansing process” would be challenging and would take time.

“You need to have a lot of patience,” he said.