Progressive Slovakia Slams Government Inaction on Foreign Policy

Bratislava, 19 January (TASR) – The government fails to act in its foreign policy and Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) has also failed so far to present the results of his working visit to the United States, representatives of the opposition's Progressive Slovakia (PS) party stated at a press conference. PS also criticised Foreign and European Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD), saying that he should already have taken a stance on the latest decisions by the United States. PS leader Michal Simecka pointed to a crisis between the United States and the European Union, which he said could have a direct impact on Slovakia's security and economy. He also warned of a threat by US President Donald Trump to impose import tariffs on eight European countries until the issue of Greenland being acquired by the United States is resolved. According to Simecka, the prime minister and the foreign affairs minister should already have responded to these statements. Simecka described the situation as a state of maximum political alert. He added that the prime minister should also have informed the public about his meeting with Trump in the United States. "The Slovak public knows nothing at this stage about the parameters of the agreement on the construction of a nuclear reactor, and it also knows nothing about what took place at the meeting between Prime Minister Fico and President Trump. We don't know whether the Slovak prime minister conveyed our interests, European interests, to the US president, whether he condemned the American intervention in Venezuela or the plans to occupy Greenland, whether he told him that a trade war would be counterproductive, or whether he stood up for the principles of international law," Simecka noted. mf/mcs