MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Saturday, January 18, 2025 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Friday, January 17): KIEV/BRATISLAVA - Chair of the most popular opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party Michal Simecka met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kiev on Friday and stated that the Ukrainian head of state has an interest in cultivating good ties and cooperation with Slovakia, TASR learnt from a PS post on Facebook on the same day. "An important meeting with President Zelenskyy. I'm bringing a clear message for Slovakia from him. Ukraine holds our support in high esteem and has an interest in the best possible ties and cooperation - including in the sphere of energy. And it's ready to negotiate. And that's what I call on [Prime Minister] Robert Fico to do," wrote Simecka. In his view, the PS delegation has managed to "reopen the door that Prime Minister Fico needlessly slammed shut with his aggressive attacks". In his social media post, written also in Slovak, Zelenskyy stated that "he had expected a certain Slovak leader, but another one showed up". He called the meeting with PS representatives good and their debate specific and constructive. "Ukraine is thankful to the people of Slovakia for their support. We're ready for an open and mutually beneficial dialogue on all issues, particularly in the sphere of energy. This dialogue must strengthen our nations - Ukraine and Slovakia - not Moscow," posted Zelenskyy. According to PS leadership member and former foreign affairs minister Ivan Korcok, PS found it necessary to visit Kiev with this precise timing, as the Slovak Government "communicates with Ukraine as if it were our enemy". He added that the Ukrainian side is willing to negotiate about the energy issues too. PS Vice-chair and House Foreign Affairs Committee Vice-chair Tomas Valasek declared that at stake in the war in Ukraine is the freedom and security of Slovakia and the whole of Europe. "It's in our vital interest to support Ukraine because the further away Putin's army is from the Slovak border the better for the people in Slovakia," he said. Simecka visited Kiev on Friday together with several opposition politicians of PS, including Ivan Korcok, MPs Tomas Valasek, Beata Jurik and Lucia Plavakova. BRATISLAVA - The decision of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to stop the transit of gas through Ukraine significantly hurts Slovakia and causes damage worth billions to the entire EU, and if this won't change, Slovakia will embrace reciprocal measures, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) reiterated in his telephone conversation with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, TASR learnt from the Government Office on Friday. "At the request of the German side, I had a telephone conversation in the afternoon today with German Chancellor Scholz. The subject was the supply and transit of gas. Without publishing Olaf Scholz's statements, I repeated to the German Chancellor the principled stances of the Slovak Government. The decision taken by Zelenskyy to stop the transit of gas through Ukraine significantly hurts Slovakia and causes damage worth billions to the entire EU. If there is no change in the decision of President Zelenskyy, Slovakia will embrace reciprocal measures," stated Fico. The Prime Minister also informed Scholz about his counter-proposal to have a meeting with Zelenskyy on Tuesday (January 21) on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos. According to Fico, the Ukrainian President hasn't yet responded to this offer. "Our meeting in Davos can resolve the future of Slovak-Ukrainian ties," added Fico. BRATISLAVA - The visit of representatives of opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) to Kiev confirms that they blindly and uncritically stand on the Ukrainian side and put Ukrainian interests before those of Slovakia, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) declared on Friday. "PS representatives somehow forgot to mention in their news from Kiev that they promised to President Zelenskyy, in case they manage to grab power at home, to support Ukraine's NATO membership and the presence of Slovak soldiers in Ukraine as part of Western armed forces deployed to hold off Russia. The former as well as the latter are in stark contrast with Slovakia's national interests," claimed Fico in a press statement released by the Government Office. On Friday, PS chair Michal Simecka visited Kiev together with several opposition politicians from PS, including Ivan Korcok, Tomas Valasek, Beata Jurik and Lucia Plavakova. Simecka met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and stated that the Ukrainian head of state is interested in good ties and cooperation. PRESOV - The excavation works of the new military hospital project in Presov are in the final stage, with the construction site visited on Friday by Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD), Defence Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD) and Health Minister Kamil Sasko (Voice-SD). "It's a construction site spanning an area of two hectares, which equals four football stadiums. A lorry leaves the site practically every minute. As I've been apprised, we're nearing the end of the works, in terms of excavation works," stated Fico. The construction works, worth €600 million, are financed from the Defence Ministry's budgeting. If no unexpected hurdle crops up, the hospital could be completed in 2027. "A modern hospital, the largest university campus, will be built here. This whole project, together with important investments into research and development projects, is really cardinal for the development of health sector not only in eastern Slovakia, but the entire country," added Health Minister Sasko. BRATISLAVA - During its two days in Russia, the Slovak parliamentary delegation met two government members, Denis Manturov and Sergey Lavrov, State Duma head Vyacheslav Volodin, and speaker of the Federation Council [the upper house of the Russian Parliament], Valentina Matviyenko to discuss economic issues, mainly concerning the halt to gas supplies, as well as the prospects for ending the war in Ukraine, said House Vice-chair Andrej Danko (Slovak National Party/SNS) in an interview for Russian news agency TASS, as reported by TASR. Representatives of Parliament completed negotiations begun by Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) during his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, at the parliamentary level, stated Danko. Danko ascribed the opposition's criticism that negotiations with Russians haven't brought any results to its incompetence and an inability to judge the context. "I probably should have brought a nesting doll to [Progressive Slovakia MP Tomas] Valasek so that he could see the results. These things aren't born overnight," he said. Danko said that it's not normal to talk about purchasing more expensive French nuclear fuel if this ultimately comes from Russia anyway. According to the SNS leader, liquefied Russian gas is also imported to Slovakia via intermediaries. "They openly confirmed to us in Russia that American and Western companies that supply us with liquefied gas buy it from them," said the House vice-chair. According to Danko, the gas price for households in Slovakia has remained at its current level only thanks to massive subsidies from the state, which has to borrow for them. "Just because you're not paying a higher price for gas now doesn't mean the problem doesn't exist," he stated. Danko said that responsible politicians must seek ways now to stabilise the gas situation in the coming years. "Don't ask me to say anything more about the opposition than that they simply don't understand governance. The people who ruled here with ['Slovakia' leader and former premier Igor] Matovic in 2020-2023 spent €20 billion and put Slovakia in debt," he stated. Concerning his talks with Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov, the SNS leader said that he was interested in the prospects of peace negotiations on ending the conflict in Ukraine. "I have had an above-standard relationship with Mr. Lavrov for years, so it was obvious that I would contact him when I was there," said Danko, who claimed that during their meeting he reiterated that some of the peace negotiations could take place in Bratislava. mf