Member of the Kera Direction vehemently rejects the S-300 system: Words about being drawn into the war – New Time

Slovakia would be drawn into a military conflict by handing over the S-300 anti-missile system to Ukraine. This was stated by Marián Kéry (Smer-SD), chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of the Slovak Republic, who stated that in the discussion program Saturday Dialogues on Radio Slovakia. According to him, the interests of Slovakia should be looked at first and foremost at the moment. The State Secretary of the Ministry of Diplomacy, Martin Klus, noted that by helping Slovakia as its neighbor, Slovakia is also defending its interests. The trot confirmed that the S-300 system could be provided to Ukrainians who know how to operate it. However, the condition is that permanent protection of Slovak airspace would have to be ensured. “I don’t think leaving the S-300 system is a matter of days,” Klus said. Kéry criticized the fact that Patriot systems came to Slovakia, which we cannot operate and are only borrowed for us. Ukraine should under no circumstances give up Crimea or Donbas, Klus claims. “It would be such a strong precedent in terms of international law that it could lead to further liquidation of what we have been used to for several decades and which has also guaranteed us peace,” Klus said. He added that countries should be respected within their borders. Both Trot and Kera consider the use of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons by Russia as the red line in Ukraine. Then NATO could step in. The world still has a number of inexhaustible options in terms of sanctions, how Russia can destroy them economically. One of them is the disconnection of gas and oil supplies from Russia, Klus said. “Sanctions are always given to a state in order to change its rhetoric, and I do not see that the sanctions imposed on the Russian Federation would change the mentality, thinking and concrete actions of the Russian Federation,” Kéry pointed out. He also reminded that Slovakia is absolutely dependent on Russian natural gas and oil. If the country cuts off from this, it will be irresponsible. The Slovak Republic could buy these raw materials, for example, from Qatar or Saudi Arabia, which, according to Kéry, are undemocratic countries. “It’s interesting that we don’t mind now and we just want to cut ourselves off Russian gas,” he said. The trot subsequently confirmed that imports of raw materials were being negotiated with both Qatar and Saudi Arabia. “We may not like that we are negotiating with countries that are not democratic, but they are still less bad alternatives than being completely dependent on a country that is waging war in a neighboring country,” Klus said. He said US President Joe Biden had assured the EU that the United States would increase oil and gas production and help cover potential supply problems in the short term. According to Kéry, Slovakia is not in danger of neighboring Russia. According to Klus, on the contrary, this cannot be ruled out and such a risk exists. The Secretary of State also objected to Kéry’s allegations that the US Secretary of Defense had given some instructions to politicians during his visit to Slovakia.