Slovak Ministers Don't Know Any Details of Fico-Trump Meeting (2)

Bratislava, 28 January (TASR) – Agriculture Minister Richard Takac (Smer-SD) and Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok (Voice-SD), speaking ahead of a cabinet session and in response to claims by Politico magazine, said that they don't know the details of Prime Minister Robert Fico's (Smer-SD) recent meeting with US President Donald Trump. "There's no point in commenting on it. I didn't discuss it with the prime minister. He didn't confide in me," said Sutaj Estok. In his view, Trump primarily protects US interests, and he can't be expected to protect the interests of the European Union or Slovakia. "Certainly many of Trump's steps aren't in line with the interests of the Slovak Republic. He wants the USA to be strong. I hope for a strong EU and, as a result, a strong Slovakia," he stated. Minister Takac also said that he has no details about Fico's meeting with Trump. In his view, Politico is engaging in politics, and he sees the article as being designed to stir up emotions and polarise society. On the other hand, he believes that Trump's actions in international politics are not standard and that the US president violated international law in the case of Venezuela. Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD) also rejected Politico's information. "If Robert Fico wanted to express criticism, he knows how to state his views directly," he underlined, adding that, based on previous experience, he doesn't see Politico as an objective medium. Foreign and European Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) responded to the magazine's claims by saying that someone doesn't like the sovereign foreign policy of the Slovak government. He described Fico's meeting with Trump as very open, friendly and constructive. "We mainly discussed our bilateral relations in terms of cooperating on the development of the civilian nuclear programme. That was essentially the aim of our visit," stated Blanar, adding that also discussed were the war in Ukraine, Gaza and compliance with international law. "The discussion was pragmatic, and we appreciate that President Trump clearly presents the national interests of the USA, even though we disagree with many of the things that they are doing," he stated. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Robert Fico rejected Politico's claims that, on the sidelines of last week's European Council meeting in Brussels, he told some EU leaders about his concerns regarding the "psychological state" of US President Donald Trump, whom he had previously met at Trump's Florida residence Mar-a-Lago. Politico cited five unnamed European diplomats. Fico has described the magazine's information as lies. NOTE: This story has been extended to include the final three paragraphs mf/df