Slovakia plans to develop cooperation with Russia in areas not covered by sanctions

Slovakia plans to develop cooperation with the russian federation in areas not covered by international sanctions. The country’s Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár said this after his visit to moscow on October 26. Slovak opposition politicians criticized the trip. DW reports, according to UNN.

Details

According to the publication, Juraj Blanár headed the Slovak delegation at the 22nd meeting of the bilateral intergovernmental commission on economic and scientific-technical cooperation. The previous meeting took place in 2021. The russian delegation was headed by the Minister of Science and Higher Education of the russian federation, valery falkov. During his visit, Blanár also met with russia’s Foreign Minister sergey lavrov. 

"The parties discussed Slovakia’s energy security, bilateral relations with an emphasis on economic cooperation, as well as the war in Ukraine. In particular, Juraj Blanár stated that it was necessary to maintain dialogue with russia in order to resolve 'situations arising in connection with the European Commission’s decisions to abandon russian energy resources'  by the end of 2027. The Slovak Foreign Ministry’s website emphasizes that lavrov assured Blanár that russia 'is still ready to fulfill its contractual obligations.' Commenting on the war in Ukraine, the Slovak minister said that representatives of the two countries understood how 'important it is to take into account the root causes of this conflict and actively support dialogue with all parties' in order to end it," the publication writes.

According to Blanár, lavrov called his proposal to hold 'preliminary talks at a lower level' in Bratislava 'acceptable.'

At the same time, according to available information, Blanár’s visit drew criticism from opposition politicians. In particular, Gábor Grendel, a representative of the conservative Nova party, called the trip an 'international disgrace' and demanded that the minister explain 'what exactly his trip to moscow gave the citizens of Slovakia.'

Meanwhile, former Slovak Foreign Minister Ivan Korčok, who represents the liberal Freedom and Solidarity party, called Blanár the 'gravedigger of Slovakia’s foreign policy.' According to him, Blanár intended to ask Lavrov for permission  to increase the number of employees at the country’s embassy in moscow. Other representatives of the Slovak opposition had previously made similar assumptions.

"However, Blanár’s visit at the head of a delegation was not the first trip by high-ranking Slovak officials to Russia in recent times. On May 8, the country’s Prime Minister Robert Fico flew to moscow. On the eve of Victory Day, he laid flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and the following day met with Russian President vladimir putin. At the same time, Fico did not attend the parade on Red Square," the publication notes.

Background

The Slovak delegation arrived in moscow for talks on energy and Russian gas. Bratislava fears arbitration claims of up to €16 billion.