Moscow (June 1) – Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic Miroslav Lajčák met with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Moscow on Monday evening (June 1). They discussed bilateral Slovak-Russian relations, as well as developments in Ukraine, the Near East, the Iranian nuclear program and illegal migration.
During the discussion on bilateral issues, Minister Lajčák opened the issue of the recent documentary by the Rossija 1 state television, which misrepresented and distorted the invasion of the Warsaw Pact armies to Czechoslovakia in 1968. Minister Lajčák conveyed Slovakia’s concern regarding such an attitude and expressed the hope that such manipulation with historic facts will not be repeated in the future.
With regard to the Ukrainian crisis, the ministers evaluated how well the Minsk agreements have been adhered to, wherein Minister Lajčák emphasized that the only way to calm the situation and establish peace is to fully and immediately comply with these agreements. “Our long-term goal is to stabilize Ukraine. This is a serious issue and therefore, I consider it important to use every opportunity to discuss this issue in the wider context,” stressed Minister Lajčák.
The ministers also broached developments in the Near East region. They assessed the opportunities for restarting the Israeli-Palestinian peace process after the forming of the Government in Israel. They also exchanged views on how the international community should prevent the radicals of the so-called Islamic State from advancing and how to stabilize the situation in countries like Libya, Syria, Yemen and Iraq.
The Slovak Minister was also interested in the progress in talks with Teheran about the Iran nuclear program, which Russia – together with USA, Germany, Great Britain and France – is actively participating in.
The ministers´ meeting was held on the sidelines of the visit to Moscow of Prime Minister Robert Fico, and Minister Lajčák was part of the accompanying delegation.
Source: Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs SR