MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Saturday, May 11, 2025 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Sunday, May 10): BRATISLAVA - While Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) is in Moscow, all important European leaders are attending a meeting in Kiev, pointed out Slovak opposition leader Michal Simecka (Progressive Slovakia/PS), who sees it as "a terrible contrast and terrible image for Slovakia." "Fico is the prime minister of war, who has betrayed Slovak interests. It's horrifying," Simecka said, adding that the head of the Slovak executive has been relegated to a role of an underling. "He pretends to be a great statesman, talking to the Russian or Chinese president. But what is the reality? The only thing that makes Fico even slightly relevant in their eyes is the fact that he is the prime minister of an EU member country, and through him, they are eroding European unity and legitimizing their propaganda," added the PS chair. The 'Slovakia' party joined in the criticism of Fico's trip to Moscow. "Today, all the significant leaders are meeting directly here in Kiev, or they have joined online. I am deeply saddened that Robert Fico, with his approach, is making Slovakia a total loser of Europe," said 'Slovakia' head Igor Matovic. Prime Minister Fico flew to Moscow on Thursday (May 8) to attend the celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the end of WW2. As part of his visit, he held several bilateral talks, including with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. According to the prime minister, the trip to Moscow brought diplomatic recognition to Slovakia at the highest global level. European leaders from the so-called coalition of the willing arrived in Kiev on Saturday to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and honor the victims of WW2. Their meeting also included discussions on reaching a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia. During the meeting, Kiev and its European allies agreed to call on Russia to accept the introduction of a 30-day unconditional ceasefire in the fighting in Ukraine, effective from Monday, May 12. LONDON/BRATISLAVA - Bilal Zahid will serve as the new Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Slovakia, TASR has learnt from an article on the UK government's website. Zahid will replace the current British Ambassador Nigel Baker, who will be "reassigned to another diplomatic position," states the article from May 9 on Gov.uk website. The new British Ambassador to Slovakia will assume his role as of September 2025. British diplomat Bilal Zahid has held several key positions, including serving from 2011 to 2013 as a political advisor on national security for the UK government. From 2013 to 2015, he was the Secretary for Foreign Affairs at the office of the Deputy Prime Minister, and from 2020 to 2022, he was the acting director of the Eastern Europe and Central Asia department at the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. From 2022 to 2023, Zahid headed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' department for Ukraine, and from 2023 to 2024, he served as the Ministerial Adviser in Kiev. MOSCOW/BRATISLAVA - During his working visit to Moscow, Prime Minister Robert Fico held bilateral talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and expressed strong disagreement with the policy of the so-called new Iron Curtain, which Fico believes is forming between the European Union and the Russian Federation, TASR learnt from the Government's Office press department on Saturday. According to Fico, Slovakia is prepared to continue maintaining and restoring Red Army memorials and military cemeteries on its soil. He stated that Slovakia wants to "build bridges of cooperation, not dividing lines," and added that Slovakia "maintains a sovereign foreign policy even within its membership in the EU and NATO." The talks also addressed energy security. Fico described the European Commission's proposal to completely halt oil, gas, and nuclear fuel supplies from Russia as "economically unsustainable and harmful to Europe." He stated that continued cooperation with Russian suppliers is essential for the safe and stable operation of Slovakia's nuclear power plants. Fico declared that if the relevant legislation is to be decided unanimously, Slovakia will veto such proposals. However, in the case of decisions made by qualified majority voting, he noted that small states can be overruled by larger EU members. The meeting also included a discussion about the war in Ukraine. Fico reiterated that Slovakia does not believe in a military solution to the conflict and supports all peace initiatives—regardless of the country from which they originate. He also held a separate, smaller-format meeting with Putin (tête-à-tête), during which current forecasts of the conflict's development were discussed. mf