Just before the weekend, Prime Minister Robert Fico paid his first foreign visit to neighboring Czech Republic, as required by tradition. Chechia has taken a more aggressive stance of support for Ukraine. Fico, on the other hand, has said that Slovakia will continue to seel weapons to Ukraine but will donate only humanitarian aid.
According to Fico, the meeting with Fialo was "very interesting".
"With the exception of arms deliveries to Ukraine, we have practically the same positions," he declared. He repeated that, according to him, military aid to Ukraine does not work, to which his counterpart, Petr Fiala, responded by saying that he, on the contrary, is convinced of its correctness.
Fiala said: if we don‘t agree on something, that does not mean that we cannot cooperate on other matters. "We don't have to deepen the problems. We don't see the differences between us as so big that we can't come to an agreement. After all, people want politicians to overcome the differences.“
Fiala emphasized where the two countries agreed. He highlighted that Czech companies are participating in the completion of the 4th block of the Slovak nuclear power plant in Mochovce. Transport is another issue. Both the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic are interested in being connected to high-speed lines in Europe, said Fiala. "We are already preparing some sections so that their construction can begin in 2026," he specified.
In the field of defense, he highlighted the joint purchases of CV-90 armored combat vehicles.
The prime ministers also talked about illegal migration. "It's something that's also very uncomfortable in terms of our relationship, because it forces us to renew temporary border controls," Fiala said. He emphasized that it is necessary for the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic to cooperate because, according to him, the European migration and asylum policy does not work sufficiently. The common interest of both countries is that there should be no border controls, he added.
(TASR)
