Vucic and Fico are heroes – Kremlin

The Kremlin has praised Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico for defying EU pressure and attending the Victory Day celebrations in the Russian capital on Friday.

Despite warnings from Brussels, Vucic and Fico also held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in addition to attending the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory in World War II. Both leaders faced travel hurdles after several EU countries closed their airspace to their jets en route to Russia. Moscow condemned the moves as “hostile.”

“These days… it is simply an act of heroism. Showing one’s sovereign will to pay tribute to the memory of Victory Day, despite the blatant, frenzied pressure, is worthy of the highest praise,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.

Last month, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned leaders from member and candidate countries against traveling to Moscow to commemorations of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany. She suggested that they visit Kiev instead.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos reportedly also told Vucic in April that his presence in Moscow would be held against Serbia’s EU bid.

Latvia and Lithuania denied their airspace to the plane of the Serbian president, forcing it to fly through Bulgaria, Türkiye, Azerbaijan, and Georgia in order to make it to Moscow on Wednesday. Vucic came to Russia despite a recent health scare that forced him to cut short a trip to the US and cancel a meeting with President Donald Trump in Florida.

Estonia closed its airspace to Fico’s plane on Wednesday. The Baltic state’s foreign minister, Margus Tsahkna, claimed that “Russia is a country that launched and continues a war in Europe” and “participation in propaganda events organized by them should be ruled out” for EU representatives.

Putin earlier praised those who accepted the invitation, calling them courageous for attending despite pressure from Brussels.

The celebrations in Moscow were attended by heads of state and top officials from 30 countries, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.