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Slovak MFA summons Russian ambassador over intelligence chief’s statements

The Slovak Foreign Ministry "called on Russia to stop disinformation activities directed against Slovakia"

BRATISLAVA, October 2. /TASS/. Slovakia's Foreign Ministry has summoned the Russian ambassador over remarks made by Sergey Naryshkin, the director of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), during a pre-election day of silence in force in the country ahead of Saturday's parliamentary elections banning campaigning.

"A representative of the Russian embassy was summoned to the Slovak Foreign Ministry on Monday, October 2, 2023. Statements by the director of Russia’s SVR Sergey Naryshkin, published during the election moratorium on the eve of early parliamentary elections in Slovakia were the reason," the Slovak foreign ministry said in a statement posted on its website.

"The Foreign Ministry strongly protests against false statements by the Russian intelligence questioning the integrity of free and democratic elections in Slovakia. We consider this deliberately spread disinformation as Russia’s unacceptable interference in Slovakia’s election process," the statement reads.

The Slovak Foreign Ministry "called on Russia to stop disinformation activities directed against Slovakia."

Such actions "undermine [the existing level of] mutual relations," it claimed.

The Russian embassy responded to a TASS question about the summoning of the ambassador to the Slovak Foreign Ministry without comment: "Yes, we confirm it."

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Foreign policy Slovakia

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