FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Most Western leaders have decided not to attend the Victory Day parade in China. But two did attend, Slovakia's Robert Fico and Serbia's Aleksandar Vučić. They are no strangers to controversy, but they have very different reasons for attending.
Both attended the Victory Day parade in Russia last May and both met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing, just as they did in Moscow.
But Vucic's Serbia, although a candidate for EU membership, cultivated close economic ties with China and he tried to pursue a neutral course with Russia, despite condemning its war in Ukraine, writes the BBC.
Fico is in a very different position. His country is a member of both the EU and NATO, yet he has called for normalization of relations with Russia.
While the EU wants a freeze on Russian oil and gas imports until the end of 2027, Fico wants its Russian energy supplies to increase, and Ukraine has tried to cut off the pipeline that supplies it.
Putin may praise the Slovak leader for his "independent foreign policy," but Slovakia's European allies don't exactly see it that way.
When asked if Fico represented the EU in Beijing, a European Commission spokeswoman said firmly "no," emphasizing that China was the "main motivator" of Russia's large-scale war in Ukraine.
His opponents at home accuse him of serving Russian propaganda and betraying his country. Fico claims he is in Beijing "while the new world order is being formed" and says that after talking with Putin he reached several conclusions and that he has a "serious message" for Zelensky when they meet on Friday.
Lini një Përgjigje