Hungarian PM congratulates pro-Russian Slovak President on election win
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban congratulated
Parliamentary Speaker Peter Pellegrini on his victory in Slovakia’s
presidential election, calling it a great victory for defenders of peace
throughout Europe in his April 7 X post.
“My heartfelt congratulations to Peter Pellegrini on his
overwhelming victory at the Slovak presidential elections,” he wrote.
“A big win for the people of Slovakia and a big win for the
advocates of peace all around Europe! Blahoželáme, pán prezident
(Congratulations, Mr. President)!”
Earlier in the day, Slovak news outlet Aktuality reported that Pellegrini had been
elected president with 53% of the vote, defeating former Foreign Minister
Ivan Korčok (44.58%) in the second round of election on April 6.
His victory consolidates the grip of the ruling coalition
led by pro-Russian Prime Minister and SMER-SD party leader Robert Fico.
During the campaign Pellegrini repeatedly accused the
pro-EU, pro-NATO, and pro-Ukrainian Korčok of trying to “drag Slovakia into the
Russia-Ukraine war” and called for an “immediate ceasefire and the start of
peace talks” between the countries.
He also claimed that sanctions against Moscow were “in most
cases ineffective” and had allegedly had a negative impact on the Slovak people
and Bratislava’s “national interests”.
In the first round of the election on March 23, Korčok
defeated Pellegrini with 42.5% of the vote against 37%, but this result fell
short of the absolute majority needed to avoid a runoff.
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