Slovak and Czech presidents address political divisions and foreign policy

Bratislava – Presidents of the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Austria met on Wednesday in Slavkov, Checia, to discuss cross -border cooperation and foreign policy as part of the presidential summit of the Slavkov format (S3).

The Czech President, Petro Pavel and the Slovak President, Peter Pellegrini, also addressed bilateral relations between their countries, which used to be exceptionally close. This dynamic changed with the beginning of Robert Fico’s fourth government, which leads to several diplomatic tensions.

Last year, the Czech Pro-Ukraine government suspended intergovernmental consultations due to differences on key foreign policy issues. The measure was an response to the pro-ruse position of the Slovak Government under Fico, including its meeting with Vladimir Putin.

Fico He has also accused Czech politicians and the media to “interfere with the internal affairs of Slovakia.”

In this sense, Pellegrini asked Pavel to “intervene” for the negative representation of Slovakia in the Czech media, citing interview programs, journal covers, public debates and even foot comedy. He insisted that Slovakia does not do the same and asked for a return to mutual respect.

In general, Pellegrini and Pavel agreed that Slovak-Czecas relationships should not be too influenced by emotions or politics, since these are temporary episodes in the shared history of two nations that once formed Czechoslovakia.

Pavel emphasized that relations between Slovakia and Czech exist at many levels, even among citizens, companies and educational institutions, and should not be dictated by political disagreements.

“We both emphasize that relations between our countries should not be negatively affected by differences in opinions on certain problems of foreign policy and security. The relationship between our nations is not defined only by these matters or by politicians,” said the Czech president.

The discussion also played at the EU summit on Thursday, where Fico has suggested that it could block Its conclusions unless the EU requires that Ukraine resumes gas traffic through its territory.

Pellegrini tried to emphasize that Slovakia has never officially used its veto power for EU decisions, but emphasized that it stops currently in gas transit through Ukraine “significantly damaging the Escuevakia economy.”

The president of Checia, a firm defender of Ukraine, replied that if any country blocked the conclusions of the summit, it may be necessary to consider advancing with a “coalition of the provisions.”

The Austrian president, Alexander Van der Bellen, expressed his agreement with the Pavel position.

(Natália Silenská | Euraactiv.sk)