Estonia denies Fico airspace access, bars his route to Moscow for Victory Day parade
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico (photo: Getty Images)
Estonia refuses Slovak premier Robert Fico permission to use its airspace for a flight to the May 9 Moscow parade, the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports.
Estonia's stance
As the foreign minister noted, Tallinn's position remains unchanged from last year. Estonia will not grant permission to use its airspace for travel to Russia.
"Fico will once again not receive permission to use Estonian airspace for a flight to Moscow to attend the 9 May parade, an event aimed at glorifying the aggressor. We denied this last year, and the same principle applies now," emphasized Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna.
Security principles
He added that no state can use Estonian territory to strengthen ties with Moscow while it continues to grossly violate international law.
"Estonia's position is unequivocal: no country may use our airspace to strengthen ties with Russia at a time when Russia continues to violate international norms and wage aggression against Ukraine and the security of Europe as a whole," the minister said.
Estonia follows a standard procedure for granting flight permits for official visits by representatives of EU and NATO member states. However, authorities stress that these mechanisms do not apply when the destination is the Russian Federation.
No fly zone to Moscow
This is not the first restriction imposed on European politicians planning visits to Russia. In May 2025, Estonia already closed its airspace for VIP flights to Moscow amid preparations for Russia's May 9 parade.
Other Baltic states also took similar steps. In particular, Latvia and Lithuania banned the overflight of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić's plane, which was also scheduled to visit the Russian capital.
Despite these restrictions, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico still managed to reach Moscow in 2025. At that time, he had to reroute through the south, which made the journey twice as long.
The visit sparked strong criticism within the European Union. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas sharply condemned the Slovak premier's actions, stressing that such a position contradicts common European security interests and international norms.
