The representatives of the governments of Slovakia and Ukraine recently met in the city of Michalovce in the east of Slovakia to discuss possible bilateral cooperation, the Slovakian Ambassador to Nigeria, Tomáš Felix, has said.
The outcome of the 11 April, 2024 meeting is a reinforcement of mutual cooperation between the two countries, Mr Felix said in a statement he emailed to PREMIUM TIMES.
The ambassador also quoted the Prime Minister of the Slovakia, Robert Fico as saying after the meeting, “The lesson from today is that you have to put aside fear, prejudices, bring people together, remove bureaucratic obstacles and you will find that difficult decisions can be made.
“I asked my cabinet ministers to take into account when negotiating with Ukrainian partners the gravity of tasks the members of the Ukrainian government have to deal with compared to their Slovak counterparts. Let them abstain from the typical bureaucratic approach that sometimes prevents us from taking quick decisions in Slovakia.
“I think we succeeded, because not only today, but also during the preparation of joint documents, the most important of which is the joint road map, we showed that we are interested in being good neighbours.”
According to Ambassador Felix, Prime Minister Fico reiterated during the meeting that the use of military force in Ukraine was a gross violation of international law and emphasized that Ukraine needs help and solidarity.
He called for the end of the war as soon as possible and the establishment of peace.
To achieve this, the Slovakian prime minister offered Ukraine maximum cooperation in the search for peaceful solutions, such as the upcoming international summit in Switzerland. He also expressed support for Ukraine’s interest in becoming a member of the European Union.
Ambassador Felix also identified an “extremely important outcome of the meeting” as the agreement on improving the energy connection on the Mukachevo – Veľké Kapušany route.
“We have already shown great help in the reverse gas flow in the past, now we realize how important the energy connection is. I would like to emphasise that energy infrastructure is the most frequent target of attacks during this war conflict, and therefore we understand Ukraine’s need to secure sufficient electricity supply,” Prime Minister Fico reportedly said. In the energy sector, the partners also discussed the need to diversify gas imports to Europe.
The representatives of Slovakia and Ukraine also discussed military help, specifically concerning the demining of Ukrainian territories. “We also talked about special multi-purpose excavators,” explained Mr Fico.
He added that the Slovak Republic remained ready to cooperate with regards to military supplies on a commercial basis, and the Minister of Defence of the Slovak Republic, Robert Kaliňák, and the Deputy Minister of Defence of Ukraine, Ivan Havryliuk, also conducted negotiations along these terms. At the same time, Slovakia offered Ukraine assistance in providing health care for people affected by the war.
The export of agricultural products from Ukraine was also discussed by the two parties. In this context, Mr Fico stated that Slovakia will provide transitional corridors for export of Ukrainian agricultural products to countries that need them. “However, I explained to the Prime Minister how important it is to protect the interests of Slovak farmers, and unless a joint solution is found, a ban on import of 14 agricultural products will continue to apply,” he stated.
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At the meeting in Michalovce, the Slovak and Ukrainian ministers agreed on establishing a railway direct connection between Kyiv and Košice. They also agreed on the refurbishment of Vyšné Nemecké border crossing in order to increase its capacity.
As part of cross-border cooperation, Robert Fico offered the Ukraine representatives expertise and cooperation of cities and municipalities from the region of eastern Slovakia.
Overall, Prime Minister Fico described the meeting of members of the Slovak and Ukrainian governments as highly constructive.
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