Slovenian President Nataša Pirc Musar has been forced to deny any links to Russian intelligence services after a minor car accident brought to light her close relationship with a Russian-born Slovenian citizen who has come under scrutiny.
On Wednesday, the parliamentary security committee, comprising members from all political parties, called for an urgent meeting next week to request that Slovenia’s Intelligence and Security Agency (SOVA) provide a report on possible Russian interference in the country’s national sovereignty and security.
The Slovenian presidency was forced to deny any links to Moscow following media reports. “We categorically deny any cooperation between the President and Russian intelligence networks,” the presidency said in a statement.
Nataša Pirc Musar was hospitalised in July with a fractured collarbone following a road traffic accident in which, according to her office, there were also “two passengers who are friends of the President”.
Local media subsequently reported that one of the passengers was Viktoria Krivolutskaya, a long-standing friend of the President who was born in Russia and obtained Slovenian citizenship in 2016. According to these reports, Krivolutskaya and Pirc Musar travelled to Russia together several times before the latter became President of Slovenia in 2022.
The Slovenian newspaper Dnevnik and the Austrian news agency APA published an investigation alleging that Viktoria Krivolutskaya had close links to Roman Jeglič, a disgraced former Slovenian intelligence officer who fled to Russia in the 1990s.
The ruling Slovenian Democratic Party has called on the government to restrict President Nataša Pirc Musar’s access to intelligence reports, claiming that she herself may have links to Russian intelligence. On Tuesday, the presidential administration denied any connection between Viktoria Krivolutskaya and Russian intelligence, arguing that such links would inevitably have prevented her from obtaining Slovenian citizenship.
Slovenia is investigating the relationship between President Nataša Pirc Musar and her naturalised friend, who has been linked to a former intelligence officer who fled to Russia. A parliamentary inquiry is under way.
Slovenian President Nataša Pirc Musar has been forced to deny any links to Russian intelligence services after a minor car accident brought to light her close relationship with a Russian-born Slovenian citizen who has come under scrutiny.
On Wednesday, the parliamentary security committee, comprising members from all political parties, called for an urgent meeting next week to request that Slovenia’s Intelligence and Security Agency (SOVA) provide a report on possible Russian interference in the country’s national sovereignty and security.
The Slovenian presidency was forced to deny any links to Moscow following media reports. “We categorically deny any cooperation between the President and Russian intelligence networks,” the presidency said in a statement.
Nataša Pirc Musar was hospitalised in July with a fractured collarbone following a road traffic accident in which, according to her office, there were also “two passengers who are friends of the President”.
Local media subsequently reported that one of the passengers was Viktoria Krivolutskaya, a long-standing friend of the President who was born in Russia and obtained Slovenian citizenship in 2016. According to these reports, Krivolutskaya and Pirc Musar travelled to Russia together several times before the latter became President of Slovenia in 2022.
The Slovenian newspaper Dnevnik and the Austrian news agency APA published an investigation alleging that Viktoria Krivolutskaya had close links to Roman Jeglič, a disgraced former Slovenian intelligence officer who fled to Russia in the 1990s.
The ruling Slovenian Democratic Party has called on the government to restrict President Nataša Pirc Musar’s access to intelligence reports, claiming that she herself may have links to Russian intelligence. On Tuesday, the presidential administration denied any connection between Viktoria Krivolutskaya and Russian intelligence, arguing that such links would inevitably have prevented her from obtaining Slovenian citizenship.