The Diplomat
The prime ministers of Slovakia and Ukraine agreed to strengthen their mutual cooperation in energy, transport and trade, among other sectors, during a meeting between government delegations from the two countries on Thursday in the Slovakian town of Michalovce. The head of the Slovak government also noted that his country remains ready to cooperate with Ukraine on military supplies on a commercial basis.
“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”, declared Slovak Prime Minister, Robert Fico, who described the meeting as “highly constructive”. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal called the meeting “historic” and thanked the Slovak government for its “firm and reliable” support and “for recognising our sovereignty and territorial integrity”, Ukrinform agency reports.
Fico said that he asked his 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 neighbors”.
During the meeting, Robert Fico reiterated 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 the end of the war as soon as possible and the establishment of peace a priority. In this context, he offered Ukrainian partners maximum cooperation in the search for peaceful solutions, such as the upcoming international summit in Switzerland. The Slovak Prime Minister once again expressed support for Ukraine’s interest in becoming a member of the European Union.
Both delegations also agreed 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,” noted Robert Fico. In the energy sector, the partners also discussed the need to diversify gas imports to Europe.
The representatives of Slovakia and Ukraine discussed also military help, specifically with demining of Ukrainian territories. “We also talked about special multi-purpose excavators,” explained Robert Fico. He added that the Slovak Republic is still ready to cooperate with regards to military supplies on a commercial basis, and the Minister of Defense of the Slovak Republic, Robert Kaliňák, and the Deputy Minister of Defense 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. In this context, Robert 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.
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.
