Slovak FM heads to Moscow via “shortest route” amid airspace restrictions

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is travelling to Moscow via a so-called northern route passing through Czechia, Germany, Sweden and Finland to take part in Victory Day celebrations.

A source in EU air traffic control circles said the flight is expected to last around 3.5–4 hours, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.

“This is the shortest route in the current geopolitical situation. It will take between 3.5 and 4 hours, depending on the air corridors used,” the source added, noting that after leaving German airspace, the plane will fly over neutral Baltic Sea waters under the control of Stockholm and Helsinki air traffic controllers.

An alternative southern route via Austria, Italy, the Mediterranean Sea, Türkiye and entry into Russian airspace over the Black Sea was also considered, but could have taken up to 8 hours.

The Baltic states — Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia — reportedly denied overflight permission, while the question of transit over Poland was dropped, according to Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski.

In Moscow, Fico is expected to lay flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The prime minister said the purpose of his visit is to pay tribute to Soviet soldiers who died fighting Nazi Germany in the liberation of Slovakia.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov