Danko Wants Explanation from Lajcak over Reaction to Speech in Duma

Danko Wants Explanation from Lajcak over Reaction to Speech in Duma

Moscow/Bratislava, November 15 (TASR-correspondent) – After he returns from Russia, Parliamentary Chair Andrej Danko will demand an explanation from Foreign and European Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajcak regarding what Lajcak considers to be an “outrageous commentary” in Danko’s address to the Russian State Duma, said Parliament’s press department head Zuzana Cizmarikova on Wednesday.

“The chairman [Danko] sees no reason to consult his speech with a minister,” Cizmarikova told TASR.

Earlier in the day, Lajcak stated that he’s uncomfortable with the fact that top constitutional officials feel no need to consult in advance with the Foreign Affairs Ministry the foreign affairs speeches that they deliver abroad.

Lajcak said this in response to Danko’s speech in the Russian State Duma and President Andrej Kiska’s speech in the European Parliament, both of which were given on Wednesday.

Neither Danko, nor Kiska consulted their speeches in advance. This is the first time that this has happened and it’s incorrect in Lajcak’s view. The minister emphasised the need for Slovakia to pursue consistent foreign affairs policy.

[Danko in his speech stated that global peace isn’t possible without a strong Russia, as Russia forms part of a global security architecture whether people like it or not. Kiska, meanwhile, warned in Strasbourg that EU countries should act jointly against the imminent threat of a Russian propaganda and information war. – ed. note]