BRATISLAVA - Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico will not change his opinion on the war in Ukraine because his Czech colleague Petr Fiala wants him to. Fico told TA3 television today in connection with Prague's decision to suspend intergovernmental consultations with Slovakia because of the two countries' divergent views on key foreign policy issues. Indirectly, the Slovak prime minister also objected to Czech President Petr Pavel's statement that Fico was a disappointment.
"I won't be here tomorrow, nor will Mr. Fiala be here tomorrow, what good was all that? To announce on Slovak territory that someone is disappointed with the Slovak Prime Minister. These are things that do not belong in the normal, modern diplomatic vocabulary," Fico said.
The Slovak Prime Minister said he cared about Czech-Slovak relations. "Relations between Czechs and Slovaks are too precious a thing to be threatened by someone utilitarian for some narrow political reasons," he added.
According to Fico, his government will continue its sovereign foreign policy. He added that Ukraine, which has faced a military invasion by Russia for over two years, needs a ceasefire and peace talks.
Last week, in response to the Czech government's decision to break off joint negotiations with his cabinet, Fico claimed that the Czech government had decided to jeopardise Slovak-Czech relations only because it was interested in supporting the war in Ukraine, while the Slovak government was openly talking about peace.
After taking office last October, the current Fico government stopped military aid to Kiev from Slovak state supplies. Fico has also previously repeatedly claimed that the Western countries' strategy on Ukraine has failed. He in turn criticised the European Union for failing to present a peace plan to resolve the conflict.
CTK/gnews.cz-JaV_07
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