TARS TV station reported that on the flight carrying the Slovak parliamentary delegation to Russia on January 12, Slovakia said it had to change its flight path because it was not allowed to fly over Polish airspace.
Poland's decision forced the Slovak delegation to fly via Germany and the Czech Republic.
Poland immediately denied the statement. Polish Foreign Ministry spokesman Pawel Wronski said that Slovakia was not banned from flying over its airspace but that the documents submitted were incomplete. After Poland requested corrections, Slovakia announced a change in flight route.
According to RT, Mr. Andrej Danko and Mr. Tibor Gaspar, two Vice Presidents of the National Council, are leading the Slovak delegation in a meeting with Russian lawmakers and officials to discuss trade issues as well as new solutions for gas flows.
Slovakia is also one of the European countries heavily affected when Ukraine decided to terminate the contract allowing Russian gas to be transited through its territory with the Russian energy corporation Gazprom from January 1, 2025.
RT said that the relationship between Ukraine and Slovakia is tense because Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico has repeatedly criticized the Western countries' military aid program for Kiev.
The Slovak leader has long advocated a diplomatic solution to the conflict. After taking office in late 2023, Fico ended Slovakia’s military aid to Ukraine and pledged to veto Ukraine’s NATO membership.
Also on January 12, Mr. Fico threatened to veto EU aid packages for Kiev and reiterated the cut in electricity supplies to Ukraine.
Earlier, on January 2, Prime Minister Robert Fico spoke about stopping the supply of electricity to Kiev and cutting electricity support for Ukrainian citizens in Slovakia.
There are currently about 140,000 Ukrainian refugees in Slovakia receiving support from various programs. Slovakia exported 2.4 million megawatt hours of electricity to Ukraine in the first 11 months of 2024, according to data from Slovakia's grid operator.
Meanwhile, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski has hailed Ukraine's decision to stop the flow of Russian gas to Europe as "another victory".
On Moscow's side, officials said Kiev's decision to stop transiting Russian gas only benefits the US and causes damage to European allies.
