China: Putin Highlights Slovakia's Foreign Policy During His Meeting with Fico

Beijing, 2 September (TASR) - Russia appreciates the independent foreign policy pursued by the Slovak government, as Russian President Vladimir Putin said during his meeting with Slovak Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) in Beijing on Tuesday, TASR has reported, referring to a story published by the TASS agency. "We very much value the independent foreign policy that you and your team, your government, are pursuing. This policy is yielding positive results. First of all, of course, I mean the economic indicators," said Putin. At the same time, the Russian president expressed his hope that trade cooperation between Bratislava and Moscow would continue. "Some of your companies continue to operate successfully on the Russian market, which, in my opinion, is also beneficial for the Slovak economy as a whole," noted the Russian president. He also emphasised that Moscow "remains a reliable supplier of energy resources". The leaders also discussed Ukraine and reiterated their position that it cannot become a NATO member. "I would like to emphasise once again what I have been saying since the very beginning: Ukraine cannot become a NATO member. This is my final decision. However, as far as its membership in the EU is concerned, we are ready to cooperate with Ukraine in this area," said Fico. "We have never been against Ukraine's membership in the EU. As for NATO, that is a completely different issue, since it concerns Russia's long-term security," stated Putin. Putin has strongly rejected accusations that Moscow is planning to attack Europe, calling them nonsense. During their talks, the Slovak premier also expressed hope that Russia would cooperate with the United States in the construction of a new nuclear facility in Slovakia. "We are in contact with the US company of Westinghouse. You know that all the reactors that Slovakia has are of Russian or Soviet production. Slovak nuclear power plants cover more than half of the country's energy consumption. I would be very happy if Russian-American cooperation were established in this area," said Fico. The two leaders came to Beijing to participate in celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII. During his three-day visit to the country, Fico will hold bilateral meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Vice-president Han Zheng. He and Putin last met in May at the Victory Day celebrations in Moscow. ko/mcs