Fico to Meet Chinese and Brazilian Presidents in Moscow in Addition to Putin

Bratislava, May 7 (TASR) - Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) will hold bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazilian head of state Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Vietnam's top leader during his upcoming visit to Moscow. The prime minister said that he wants to speak about the prospects for ending the war in Ukraine, stressing that he also intends to build relations between West and East and that he rejects a so-called new Iron Curtain. "I will lay wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. That will be a basic part of my programme in Moscow, it is a sign of respect for the past. Then I will have a series of bilateral talks," the prime minister told a news conference ahead of the cabinet meeting on Wednesday, asking which Slovak politicians have had the opportunity to meet bilaterally with the Chinese and Brazilian presidents, Vietnam's top leader and the Russian president within the space of eight hours. After his meeting with Putin, Fico will fly back to Bratislava. In addition to congratulations for the national holiday, the premier will also talk about "what to do next" and what the prospects for ending the war are. "We'll reiterate that peace is the only way out of all the decay we can see today," he said, adding that he rejects a new Iron Curtain. "If someone builds an Iron Curtain, I guarantee you that I'll take an iron saw and I'll create space in that Iron Curtain so that there will always be some relations between East and West," emphasised Fico. The prime minister's agenda in Moscow is to include a meeting of the heads of delegations on Thursday (May 8) evening and a lunch the next day, he said. Fico is due to attend the celebrations in Moscow on May 9 marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. He has already announced in advance that he wants to pay tribute to the thousands of Red Army soldiers who were killed during the liberation of Slovakia, as well as to the millions of other victims of the "Nazi rampage". am/df