Slovak Parliament Votes Against New Sanctions on Russia
On 5 June, the Slovak Parliament passed a resolution calling on members of the government to refrain from supporting new sanctions and trade restrictions against Russia in international organisations.
The Gaze reports on this with reference to Noviny.
The document was initiated by the pro-Russian Slovak National Party (SNS), and its adoption caused a stir not only in political circles – the organizers of a petition to lift anti-Russian sanctions visited the chamber.
Fifty-one of the 76 MPs present voted in favour of the resolution. Among them were all members of the SNS faction, the majority of Prime Minister Robert Fico's Smer-SD party, some MPs from the coalition party Hlas-SD, as well as several independents.
Only one MP, Jan Ferenčák from Hlas-SD, opposed the resolution, while 23 other MPs from the same party abstained.
Opposition MPs boycotted the vote by not attending.
The resolution states that sanctions against Russia are causing energy prices to rise, disrupting supply chains and reducing the competitiveness of the Slovak economy.
The document rejects any further expansion of restrictions, which, according to the authors, could negatively affect industry, the economy and the well-being of citizens.
In addition, the Slovak parliament called on the government to resolutely defend national economic interests in foreign policy and to oppose international measures that could harm the Slovak economy.
"This is a historic document, the first of its kind within the EU. This document is a resolution that speaks for itself and contradicts what the president said yesterday. It clearly states that anti-Russian sanctions are damaging the Slovak economy. The plenary session of the Slovak parliament agreed with this,’ boasted SNS leader Andrej Danko after the vote, whose deputies submitted the resolution to parliament.
Slovak President Peter Pellegrini rejected a petition calling for a referendum on lifting sanctions against Russia the day before.
In early May, Pellegrini received a petition from the far-right Slovak Revival Movement (SHO) party calling for a referendum on lifting sanctions against Russia, which had gathered 400,000 signatures.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico later said that he would support such a referendum.
As The Gaze reported earlier, Fico said that his country would join the Friends of Peace group, created at the initiative of China and Brazil, to peacefully resolve Russia's war against Ukraine.