STA, 29 March, 2018 - The government on Thursday recalled Slovenian Ambassador to Russia Primož Šeligo for consultations about the March nerve agent attack on Russian double agent Sergei Skripal in England. Russia has expressed its regret about the move.
Having been in Slovenia already, the ambassador had his first interview with Foreign Minister Karl Erjavec in the afternoon.
According to a press release from the ministry, Erjavec on the occasion repeated his concern about the use of the nerve agent on British soil and underlined solidarity with the UK, an EU partner and a NATO ally.
Noting that the use of the nerve agent is a grave violation of international law, Erjavec said it "is very important what explanations the Russian side give about the case in the coming period".
In response to the ambassador's recall, the Russian Embassy in Ljubljana said that Russia regretted any measure leading away from constructive development of inter-state relations and harming everyone in the international community.
The government took the decision today, having discussed what Slovenia should do after several EU member states and other partner countries decided to expel Russian diplomats over the Salisbury attack.
Erjavec told reporters that he had advised against expelling Russian diplomats and that the government had unanimously assessed that such a measure would be too harsh given that it was not known who was responsible for the attack.
Erjavec said that Ambassador Šeligo was to present his view of the situation and Moscow' view.
Prime Minister Miro Cerar added that this was an additional response to the measures taken by the EU and NATO.
Cerar said that the decision to recall the ambassador was a good one and that a harsher measure would not be appropriate. Slovenia has joined Luxembourg, Bulgaria and Slovakia in recalling ambassadors in Moscow.
The prime minister said that while Slovenia was a responsible EU and NATO member, this "does not mean that we blindly follow certain opinions and assessments."
A total of 18 EU member states have so far expelled some Russian diplomats as a sign of solidarity with the UK, plus another 7 non-EU countries, including the US.
In retaliation Russia today announced the closure of the US consulate in St Petersburg and expulsion of 60 US diplomats. It plans to apply the same approach to other nations that expelled Russian diplomats.
President Borut Pahor has said that Slovenia should express solidarity with the UK, but Cerar said today that Pahor failed to consult the government or the Foreign Ministry, which steer foreign policy.
"I understand that he has his views, he is the president after all (...), but in this case the government is the one who steers policies and all of us have to harmonise our views," he added.
Erjavec too regretted Pahor's statement and expressed the belief the president should have first consulted with the Foreign Ministry and waited for the government to discuss the issue.
"Now it seems again that there are certain differences in the Slovenian foreign policy," he added.
Parliamentary Speaker Milan Brglez said today that a prudent diplomatic response should be made in this situation, adding that he personally advocated the idea to recall the ambassador in Moscow for consultations.
Brglez is not inclined to expelling Russian diplomats, as "we too have to balance our own interests".
