Former Slovakian leader Igor Matovic did not spare words to deplore current Prime Minister Robert Fico’s appearance on Russian state TV channel Rossiya 1 on Wednesday.
“What a horrible, treacherous ferret,” Matovic, who served as the country’s prime minister from 2020 to 2021, said on Facebook.
The pro-Russian Slovakian leader was interviewed on “60 Minutes,” a political talk show hosted by Russia sanctions propagandist Olga Skabeeva, known as the “Iron Doll of Putin TV” for her criticism of Russia’s political opposition and the Russian political opposition. west. She previously dismissed the massacre by Russian occupation forces in Bucha, Ukraine, as a “hoax” concocted by the West to create a “fake version of Srebrenica”, akin to the massacre of 8,000 people by Serb forces during the collapse of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. I am referring to the infamous chapter. Muslim men and boys.
In the Rossiya 1 interview, Fico accused the West of prolonging the war by supporting Ukraine, described Western sanctions against Russia as ineffective and said he was ready to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“The European Union says this to Ukrainians: ‘Here are your weapons, here is your money. Fight. Don’t bother us. We don’t want to be involved in this war anymore,” Fico said.
The Slovakian leader added that he would like to visit Moscow to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe on May 9 next year.
Fico’s pre-recorded appearance on a propaganda channel sparked outrage among Slovakian opposition politicians, MEPs and Ukrainian officials.
“Slovak Prime Minister Fico was interviewed by Russian propagandist Olga (Skabeeva). Let me remind you that (Skabeyeva) called for the occupation of Ukraine, the killing of Ukrainians and the incitement of hatred against Ukraine. “If Pico loves Russia so much, he might just move to Moscow.” Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksiy Goncharenko said in a post on X:
British Ambassador to Slovakia Nigel Baker said it was “regrettable” that Fico had agreed to interview Skabaeva.
“The claim that the West is not interested in peace is false. We support #Zelenskyy’s peace plan. And the fastest way to achieve peace is for (Russia) to leave (Ukrainian) territory,” he wrote to X.
Czech European People’s Party lawmaker Danuše Nerudová said Fico had confirmed that he was a “threat to European security.”
In his home country, Michal Simecka, leader of the opposition Slovakian Progressive Party, called Fico’s arrival a “huge shame”, while Jurai Krupa, a lawmaker from the opposition Freedom and Solidarity Party, described it as “unprecedented.”
“Not even (Moscow-supporting Hungarian Prime Minister) Viktor Orbán would dare to do that,” Krupa told a news conference.
