The Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico, is seeking a route to Russia after the Baltic states close their airspace.
According to Reuters, the Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico, is looking for ways to travel to Moscow for the grand parade on May 9th today.
The problem is: Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia have closed their airspace to this plane - which is something Fico does not want to see.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic solved this problem by taking a detour - he flew there via Azerbaijan.
Owing to political sensitivity and security concerns, several EU countries including Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia have closed their airspace to the Slovak government's special aircraft, complicating Fico's itinerary.
The accompanying image shows that Fico must take a detour - because he cannot use the usual Baltic and Polish air corridors, so he has to find another route to Moscow.
As both an EU and NATO member state, Slovakia has its airspace closed by Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, which are also EU and NATO members. This highlights the lack of unity within the EU regarding its attitude towards Russia. These Baltic nations, out of political sensitivity and security concerns, have taken a tough stance against Russia, attempting to demonstrate their position by restricting interactions between other countries and Russia. However, it also reflects the divisions in EU foreign policy; as an EU member state, Slovakia has autonomous needs in foreign decision-making and maintains certain exchanges with Russia, which has been resisted by some member states.
In general, this event is a microcosm of the collision of various factors such as geopolitical considerations, national sovereignty, and diplomatic autonomy.
Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1831553782293508/
Disclaimer: The article represents the views of the author only.