BRATISLAVA: Slovakia’s opposition Thursday slammed a planned visit to Russia by the foreign minister, saying the government was exposing the country and EU to intelligence risks in a move akin to “treason.”

Juraj Blanar will travel to Moscow in the coming weeks for a meeting of the Russian-Slovak Intergovernmental Commission for Economic and Scientific-Technical Cooperation, Fico said on Wednesday.

The commission has been dormant since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with the last meeting being held in Bratislava in November 2021.

The opposition SaS party’s Juraj Krupa accused the government of launching a “full-scale rapprochement campaign with Russia” and said it was tantamount to “treason.”

Ivan Novotny, also from the SaS, said the commission meeting was merely a “pretext” for Blanar to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and seek to remove a cap on the number of Russian diplomats in Bratislava.

Since March 2022, Russia has been limited to 15 diplomats and 19 administrative and technical staff in Slovakia, over suspicions of espionage.

Novotny said Russia was seeking a “new hub for intelligence operations” in the EU after the ousting of former Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban, who had been Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest ally in Europe.

Prime Minister Robert Fico, who has served as Slovakia’s prime minister four times, opposes military aid to Ukraine and also maintains close relations with Putin.

During his current term, he has repeatedly clashed with the European Union.

Last year, parliament amended the constitution to state that national law takes precedence over EU law.

Tens of thousands of people have taken part in a series of protests against his government’s efforts to strengthen ties with the Kremlin despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as moves to exert greater control over the media and culture.