Blanar: Joint Sessions of Slovak and Czech Governments Likely to Be Held Soon

Prague, 18 November (TASR-correspondent) - The Slovak government and the incoming Czech government are likely to hold a joint session soon, said Slovak Foreign Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar during a visit to Prague on Tuesday, referring to the results of the general election in the Czech Republic as well as comments made by leader of the winning party Andrej Babis on this issue, TASR has learnt from its Prague correspondent on the same day. The formation of the new Czech government currently hinges on President Petr Pavel's requirement that he'll appoint Babis as prime minister only after he publicly explains how he intends to resolve a conflict of interest, which he hasn't done so far. "After the election held in the Czech Republic, as I follow the process of how the government's manifesto is being formed, including statements by Babis, who is likely to become prime minister, as well as by other ministers who support strengthening these relations, I believe that a joint session of governments will probably take place soon," said Blanar. Blanar added that he received the Czech coalition's plan to return to holding joint sessions "with great anticipation". Likewise, the draft manifesto of the incoming Czech government also refers to strengthening cooperation within the Visegrad Four format (V4: the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia). "This shows that they are interested in renewing these contacts, and I'm very much looking forward to this cooperation," said Blanar, adding that he doesn't attribute more significance to the V4 platform than it deserves. According to him, the V4 was created to bring together countries on issues on which they share similar views. "The V4 is valuable because it's our historical heritage, with many achievements on its track record, and we should respect our history rather than throw everything away over minor disagreements. That's partly why I'm looking forward to cooperation with the incoming government," said the minister. jrg/df