EditEurope’s defectors made their way to Moscow via Bulgarian airspace
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić defied EU discipline
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić used Bulgarian airspace to travel to the Russian capital Moscow to attend Putin’s military parade, according to information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs obtained by Euractiv Bulgaria.
But while Fico directly announced to Sofia that he was heading to Moscow, the Serbian president has indicated the Azerbaijani capital Baku as his destination.
Fico and Vučić are among the few European leaders who accepted to attend the military parade that commemorates the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany on 9 May.
Overflying Bulgaria is hardly the most convenient route to Russia. But Lithuania and Estonia have banned planes carrying Fico from entering their airspace as they travelled to Moscow for the Victory Day celebrations in Russia. Their position is that Russia is a country that has started and continues a war in Europe, participation in propaganda events organized by them should be excluded.
The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry explains that they have issued the Slovak Republic, which is a member of the EU and NATO, on a reciprocal basis, a diplomatic blank permit for 2025 for flights in the airspace of Bulgaria and landings on the territory of the country by Slovak aircraft owned by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Defence of the Slovak Republic, performing certain tasks, including VIP transportation, humanitarian and sanitary flights, etc.
According to a request received from the Slovak side, a flight of an aircraft of the government of the Slovak Republic for the purpose of transporting an official delegation led by the Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic on a working visit to Moscow, was carried out on 8 May, in accordance with the issued permit, with the return on the return route planned for 9 May.
Fico is the only leader of an EU country to visit Putin for the parade. Even Putin’s most loyal supporter Viktor Orban has skipped the Red Square extravaganza.
As for Vučić, whose country is a candidate for EU membership, his plane has been granted two overflight permits to transport an official delegation led by him. The MFA’s responses show that Vučić has not informed Sofia of his final destination. His requests are for a Belgrade-Baku flight on 7 May, and a Baku-Belgrade flight on 10 May. “The requests do not specify flights on other routes,” the foreign ministry’s responses read. An interesting detail is that Azerbaijani President Heydar Iliev himself did not go to Moscow.
Back in mid-April, the European High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaia Kallas spoke out against the participation of representatives of EU countries in the parade in Moscow.
“We do not want any of the EU candidate countries to participate in the events in Moscow on May 9,” she said after a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg, adding that the EU would not lightly pass over participation in the parade while Russia is waging war in Europe.
Caption: A handout photo made available by Photo Host Agency RIA Novosti shows Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico arrive to attend the celebrations to mark the Victory Day in Moscow, Russia, 8 May 2025. [EPA-EFE/ANATOLIY MEDVED]
Updated: June 10, 2025 - 14:54
