Intergovernmental Consultations Between Slovakia and Ukraine Held in Kiev

Kiev, 2 July (TASR) - Representatives of the foreign ministries of Slovakia and Ukraine met in Kiev on Tuesday, the Ukrainian Embassy to Slovakia has reported in its statement, adding that the Ukrainian side called on Slovakia to support the new EU sanctions package against Russia and participate in the work of a new special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine. Director-General of the Political Section of the Slovak Foreign and European Affairs Ministry Martin Kaco along with Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Deputy Minister Olexandr Mischenko held talks in Kiev and at the beginning of their meeting, they jointly honoured the memory of the fallen defenders of Ukraine by laying flowers at the Wall of Remembrance. The Ukrainian side expressed its gratitude to Slovakia for its readiness to supply Ukraine with eight modern Slovak-made Bozena-5 demining machines. Mishchenko confirmed that Ukraine is interested in a constructive dialogue with Slovakia, but at the same time strongly rejected recent statements by Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) regarding the possibility of forgiving Russia. Mishchenko further stated that „such proposals are categorically unacceptable and do not reflect the realities of the war, especially that the aggressor state must be punished for the committed crimes“. Regrading the suspension of Russian gas transit, Kiev stressed that Russia is using the profits from it to wage a 'criminal war' against Ukraine. Therefore, Ukraine called on Slovakia not to contribute to the financing of the Russian military campaign. Both the Ukrainian and Slovak sides mutually stressed the priority of further development of bilateral cooperation. The representatives paid special attention to the issues of Ukraine's integration into the EU. Mischenko expressed gratitude to the Slovak side for supporting Ukraine's European Union membership. Mischenko also appreciated the active work of Slovak volunteer organisations, which regularly collect funds for Ukraine. lin/mcs