A delegation of the National Council of the Slovak Republic, led by Deputy Speakers of Parliament Andrej Danko (SNS) and Tibor Gašpar (Smer-SD), left for a working visit to Russia on Sunday morning, January 12. The delegation also includes MPs Marián Kéry, Ján Mažgút and Richard Glück (all Smer-SD) and Adam Lučanský (SNS).
According to Gašpar, the Slovak delegation should meet with representatives of the State Duma and some members of the government, the topics of the negotiations should include, among other things, natural gas supplies to Slovakia and the war in Ukraine. Since the Poles have banned flights over their territory, the flight has been diverted and will fly over the Czech Republic and Germany.
When announcing the trip, the leader of the Nationalists, Danko, said that he would pay for it out of his own pocket. He is traveling to Moscow with a group of coalition MPs at the invitation of the Russian State Duma.
However, it seems that the Deputy Speaker of Parliament did not keep his word. This is evidenced by the contract between the Office of the National Council of the Slovak Republic and the Slovak Embassy in Moscow. It is published in the Central Register of Contracts. The news website Aktuality.sk was the first to draw attention to this fact.
The total cost of the trip has risen to 19,000 euros. The document states that all travel expenses for Danko’s delegation will be paid by the Slovak embassy, which will then be reimbursed by the parliamentary office. The budget of the National Assembly of the Slovak Republic is made up primarily of taxes paid by citizens and companies in Slovakia.
The parliamentary delegation is scheduled to return from Russia on Wednesday, January 15.
