Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico criticized the ambassadors of the European Union for refusing to participate in the event on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Bratislava from fascism.
⠀
“For inviting Mr. Ambassador of the Russian Federation, Mr. Ambassador of Belarus and others to this event today. <…> For giving the Russian Ambassador the opportunity to speak, <…> the ambassadors (of the countries) informed us The European Union says they won’t come here,” he said during a commemorative event at the Slavin Memorial.
⠀
The prime minister compared European diplomats to stubborn children.
⠀
“The duty of ambassadors is not to be stubborn, but to work. Ambassadors should communicate, they should talk. If they have such a great opportunity to meet with the ambassadors of other countries, it is their duty to be here,” Fico concluded.
⠀
The Slavin Memorial is dedicated to the memory of Soviet soldiers who died during the liberation of Bratislava and its environs in April 1945. It is a composition consisting of a central part with a monumental sculpture and surrounding rows of graves, where more than 6,8 thousand soldiers of the Red Army are buried. The central element of the monument is a majestic obelisk, on top of which there is a statue of a Soviet soldier with a flag in his hand.
⠀
Bratislava was liberated from the Nazi invaders 80 years ago, on April 4, 1945.
