Security and peace in Europe cannot be achieved without Russia. This was stated by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, speaking at a ceremony marking the 82nd anniversary of the anti-Hitler Slovak National Uprising in Banská Bystrica (eastern Slovakia). The ceremony was broadcast by the TA-3 television channel.
"Security and peace in Europe cannot be achieved without Russia. This can only be achieved with Russia, the prime minister said, quoted by "Focus".
"Russia should be criticized when it makes mistakes, but it cannot be demonized and pushed out of Europe," the Slovak prime minister added.
The Slovak prime minister addressed harsh words to Western countries for spreading Russophobia and insisted on a fundamental change in Brussels' approach. According to him, the Western world must recognize the fact that "an equal Russia exists alongside them":
"The EU does not need more weapons and Russophobia. It needs stronger diplomacy and concrete plans to support its own economy. The European Union is a peaceful project, not a tool to fight Russia.
Warnings about Nazism and a belligerent atmosphere
Fico expressed serious concerns about the return of extremist ideologies and an atmosphere of hatred on the continent:
"Nazism was defeated on the battlefields of World War II, but it was never eradicated from the minds of its followers. It returned, simply dressed in different clothes.
In this context, the Slovak Prime Minister recalled a statement by a correspondent for the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung from three weeks ago regarding the murder of Russians:
''I am afraid that this shows that this mentality is being transmitted. I am afraid that there are people here who still carry this in their heads. I am afraid that this is the result of the creation of a belligerent atmosphere, especially in the last decade, an atmosphere of hatred, Russophobia and, above all, hatred of Russia.
Preserving historical memory and criticizing Kiev
In conclusion, the head of the Slovak government emphasized the need to preserve historical memory and criticized the glorification of Bandera's supporters and Nazi collaborators in Ukraine. According to him, they cannot be separated ''from fascist ideology, from the fact that they committed mass crimes, were part of the Holocaust and killed thousands of civilians in Poland and other countries'':
''They cannot be made into heroes just because they fought for national independence and the blood of their victims should be forgotten'', concluded Fico.