The European Union has the prerequisites to be a strong global player and partner, Slovak Foreign Affairs Minister Miroslav Wlachovsky said during a panel discussion on Europe in the new geopolitical sphere at the Bled Strategic Forum in Slovenia on Tuesday.
The minister also spoke about the need to strengthen independence from the supply of strategic goods from non-EU countries. "The answer to Russia's vision of the world, seeing the European Union and its member states as mere vassals of the USA, without their own opinion, is our strong partnership based on values such as freedom, democracy, human rights and dignity," stressed the Minister.
He noted that the world is literally in flames at the moment. "In those of war and in those as a result of catastrophic fires, and there is no time or space for its further artificial divisions," he said, adding that foreign policy begins at home, and in this sense it is necessary to strengthen citizens' attention, partnerships and fellowship to the EU.
Issues like Russian aggression against Ukraine, migration, and bilateral cooperation dominated the Minister's bilateral talks with his counterparts from South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Sweden. During his meeting with Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Wlachovsky expressed Slovakia's full support for efforts to start democratic changes in the country. This year's Bled Strategic Forum was also a sign of solidarity with Slovenia that suffered damage amounting to millions of euros during the devastating floods in early August.
(TASR)
