President Caputova Welcomes Hungarian Counterpart in Bratislava (2)

Bratislava, September 30 (TASR) - President Zuzana Caputova met with her Hungarian confrere Katalin Novak during the latter's first official visit to Slovakia on Friday. The heads of states discussed the illegal migration, the need to weather impacts of the Russian aggression in Ukraine and anti-Russian sanctions. Caputova underlined that both Slovakia and Hungary share the same view on the Russian invasion in Ukraine. "We perceive the Russian aggression in Ukraine as utterly unacceptable and in the breach of international law. It's a brutal war against a sovereign country and a violation of its territorial integrity," stated Caputova. Although Hungary doesn't provide Ukraine with military aid, it accepts Slovakia's different stance in this regard, said Novak. Caputova thinks that the latest statements made by Russian President Vladimir Putin are geared for domestic audiences, in the wake of Ukraine's recent military successes. Unlike Novak, she doesn't impugn the effect of sanctions on Russia. When approving sanctions, Caputova believes that it's necessary to assess the situation sensitively, communicate openly with other countries and seek solutions that won't undermine the unity within the EU and NATO. In this context, Novak emphasised the need to pass sanctions that would cause the most extensive damage to Russia without destroying the European economies or hindering the everyday lives of Europeans. The Hungarian President underlined the importance of cooperation within the Visegrad Four group (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia) and asked Caputova for Slovakia's support of Hungary, so that Budapest might not lose the EU finances in its dispute with Brussels. Novak voiced appreciation for measures that help the Hungarian ethnic minority in Slovakia exercise its rights and maintain its identity. She pointed out, however, that in comparison to the neighbouring countries, the Hungarian ethnic community in Slovakia has been assimilating into the native population at the quickest pace and asked Caputova to do everything to stop this phenomenon. mf