Slovak Interior Minister Hopes for Renewal of Czech-Slovak Talks (2)

Bratislava, 31 July (TASR) – Leader of Voice-SD and Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok voiced his hope that, following the Czech Republic's parliamentary election in the autumn, joint negotiations between the Slovak and Czech governments can resume. Sutaj Estok made the remarks in an interview with TASR TV. The intergovernmental consultations were suspended by the Czech side in 2024 due to disagreement with Slovakia’s foreign policy stance on Ukraine. Sutaj Estok noted that since then, the Slovak government has held two joint meetings with the Ukrainian side. „As a politician, I sincerely wish that after the elections – regardless of the outcome – cooperation between the Czech and Slovak governments will be renewed," said Sutaj Estok. „I experienced several such meetings while serving as Head of the Government Office under Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini, and they were always highly constructive," he added. According to the minister, current relations are affected by the upcoming Czech elections, which have also impacted communication between Czech and Slovak officials, particularly after the recent operation in Ukraine’s Dnipro. During the operation, conducted by Ukrainian, Slovak, and Czech police, a suspect accused of sending bomb threats to Czech and Slovak schools was detained. The Czech side criticised Slovakia for informing the public about the case prematurely, but failing to mention an investigative theory suggesting that the Ukrainian suspect might have been financed by Russia. „We shared the information within the scope approved by the investigator, who was part of the international team," Sutaj Estok responded. He added that there are multiple lines of investigation and that sharing details prematurely is inappropriate. „I don't want to speculate, but the timing of the Czech elections has unfortunately influenced statements made by several Czech officials. That’s regrettable, because this was a successful international police operation, and Slovak officers played a key role," the minister stated. Sutaj Estok identified ending the "war in the police" as one of his top priorities upon taking office – a conflict he claims his predecessor failed to address. „Unprecedented things were happening in this country – doors were being kicked in based on political orders," he said. „All of this could have ended long ago. When you have police officers accused of intentional crimes, the minister has a duty to act. Mr Mikulec did not act, so I eventually had to," he added. „Upon my appointment, I said the law will apply equally to every single police officer, and the era of political revenge is over," Sutaj Estok declared. He also pointed to long-standing staffing problems within the police force. „This trend began a decade ago, with a growing number of officers leaving and fewer recruits joining. The worst period was between 2020 and 2023, when over 5,000 officers left the force, partly due to the internal conflict in the security services," Sutaj Estok stated. The Interior Ministry is responding with measures to boost motivation join the police, ranging from financial incentives to recruitment campaigns. „Thanks to this, in just three months we had more applicants than in the entire previous year," the minister concluded. mf/mcs