MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Monday, 18 August 2025 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Sunday, 17 August): BRATISLAVA - Speaking on STVR's politics programme 'Sobotne dialogy' (Saturday Dialogues), Foreign Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) called the Alaska summit the first step towards peace, stressing the need for dialogue. However, anyone who thought the summit would end the conflict was naive, he said. "I think that anyone who thought that one summit would end this complicated conflict in Ukraine was very naive. However, it's very important that the process has started and that discussion is underway, since there's no military solution to this conflict, just a diplomatic one, and the only one who managed to get the two sides, Ukrainian and Russian one, to the table was the administration of Donald Trump, and we've been supporting it from the very beginning," said Blanar. He pointed out that Trump immediately informed the EU leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about the result of the summit, thus showing that he was not leaving the Union out of the peace process. Opposition MP and parliamentary foreign affairs committee vice-chair Tomas Valasek (Progressive Slovakia/PS), also on the show, responded that the negotiations alone are not enough, as he believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin isn't interested in an agreement and is striving to weaken the sovereignty of countries, including Slovakia. In this context, Valasek stated that pressure and reasons must be brought in dialogues with Russia that would make Putin to change his position. He described Putin's demands as maximalist. "These demands include that, for example, Slovakia shouldn't have the right to freely decide with whom and how we can defend ourselves, they want to make us second-category allies. That is not my assumption, they sent it to us in the form of a treaty between NATO and the Russian Federation in December 2021," Valasek explained. According to him, Putin indirectly repeated this position at the summit, but Slovak diplomacy did not respond to it at all, which he views as scandalous. Blanar noted that, according to Trump, the leaders at the summit agreed that the goal was to conclude a peace agreement, not just a ceasefire, as this is often violated. He also said that Slovakia's position on the 19th package of anti-Russian sanctions will depend on whether it harms Slovak interests or not. BRATISLAVA - If Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy answers "yes" to many questions at his upcoming meeting with US President Donald Trump, the United States will subsequently mediate a trilateral meeting, Defence Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD) said on STVR's discussion programme 'O 5 minut 12' (Five Minutes to Twelve) on Sunday. "It's clear to me that if President Zelenskyy answers 'yes' to many questions on Monday (18 August), the USA will then mediate and organise a trilateral meeting and it will be concluded, since otherwise we'll watch Russians gradually moving forward despite all efforts by Europe," stated Kalinak. His opponent on the show, Christian Democrats (KDH) leader Milan Majersky stated that any agreements must be in favour of Ukraine and its citizens. He views it unacceptable for territorial or political concessions to be decided without the direct consent of Kiev. "Ukraine must agree that it can make some concessions, neither the EU, nor Trump or [Russian President Vladimir] Putin can make this decision for them," he said. Kalinak finds it crucial that the leaders are heading towards a peace agreement and not a ceasefire. "And equally important is Vladimir Putin's statement that we must eliminate all causes of the conflict, some of which we know, for example, Ukraine's NATO membership, as well as some other things concerning relations to minorities and the like," said Kalinak. Every peace must contain a certain compromise, said Kalinak, who views the return of Ukraine to the pre-2014 borders as unrealistic. In reaction, Majersky said that Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons in the 1990s in exchange for security guarantees and territorial integrity, which Russia is violating today. BRATISLAVA - In addition to proposal for further consolidation, Finance Minister Ladislav Kamenický (Smer-SD) should also prepare pro-growth measures, House Chair Richard Rasi (Voice-SD) said on TA3's discussion programme 'V politike' (In Politics) on Sunday, adding that the government could gain more money from the gambling tax, or from banks and retail chains. "We talked about the gambling tax, we unambiguously view this tax as an area from which huge millions of euros can be earned, we also talked about taxation of banks and retail chains, and we also talked about, and this is a strong issue that will be discussed a lot, that we can't imagine increasing spending on armament at the moment," said Rasi. His opponent on the show, opposition MP Branislav Groehling (Freedom and Solidarity/SaS) responded that just like the first consolidation, the next one will be paid by people, too. For example, banks can increase their fees, which will significantly affect the people of Slovakia. He stressed that savings should mainly be made on the part of the state in terms of slimming down the public administration or scrapping two useless ministries, particularly the Tourism and Sport Ministry, as well as Investment, Regional Development and Informatisation Ministry. Rasi objected that the number of civil servants was reduced by 5 percent already last year, and that the requirement regarding saving of expenditures applies to all ministries also in the future. Concerning the state budget draft for next year, Rasi expects it to be approved at the October parliamentary session at the soonest. The debate on proposals to dismiss several ministers should be opened at the September session, he added. BRATISLAVA - Ex-minister of foreign affairs and member of Progressive Slovakia (PS) leadership member Ivan Korcok believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin still wants war and a fundamental change to the security arrangement in Europe. He pointed out that the so-far known outcomes of the Alaska summit have brought no concrete steps towards an early end to Russian aggression. "Not even a ceasefire has been achieved, which is repeated evidence of Putin's disinterest in peace. Even after such an accommodating step as his reception by President [Donald] Trump on the US soil, Putin hasn't changed his determination to continue the war. For this reason, the USA should change its accommodating approach to Russia. Otherwise, its efforts is reaching a dead end," stated Korcok. MP Veronika Remisova ('Slovakia' party, For the People, the Christian Union/KU) claims that US President Donald Trump only gave "many compliments to the war criminal Putin" at the summit. She also warned against the US president's words, which she views as a dangerous precedent. "When in the future any large country attacks a smaller one - for example Slovakia, then according to Trump it's absolutely normal that the small country must surrender and hand over its territory," she said, stressing that peace should be just, sustainable and fair, especially for the country that is the victim of aggression. BRATISLAVA - Peace in Ukraine should be based on justice and security guarantees for Ukraine, not on conspiracies, the opposition Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) has said in reaction to Friday's (15 August) summit in Alaska, adding that the only known positive signal is that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy should be invited to the next summit as well. "We'll achieve a lasting and just peace through security guarantees and strong security cooperation, not through Ukraine's capitulation or spreading conspiracies, as the coalition is doing. KDH promotes Slovakia's interests through cooperation with transatlantic partners - in the EU and NATO. It is in Slovakia's vital interest to remain a reliable partner of our allies, who seek peace through facts and cooperation, not through propaganda and conspiracies," said KDH leader Milan Majersky. KDH also welcomes the fact that top-level negotiations are coordinated in the transatlantic space. However, it's impossible to talk about a real solution without the participation of Ukraine, stressed Majersky. Trump and Putin met in Alaska on Friday to discuss the war in Ukraine and the possible ways of ending it. On Saturday (16 August), Trump informed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and NATO leaders about the results of his meeting with Putin. lin