Monitor: Blanar: Premier Wants to Discuss Ukraine's Commitments with Leyen

(TA3,'V politike', 8 March) Speaking on TA3's discussion programme 'V politike' (In Politics) on Sunday, Foreign and European Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar said that Prime Minister Robert Fico (both Smer-SD) wants to negotiate with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Ukraine fulfilling its commitments. Parliamentary Vice-Chair Martin Dubeci (Progressive Slovakia/PS) responded that blocking financial aid to Ukraine wouldn't be in Slovakia's national interest. "We sent two notes to the [Ukrainian] Foreign Affairs Ministry, to which we haven't yet received a response, requesting that we should be allowed to go there to investigate. Similarly, the European Union (EU) requested an inspection through its ambassador in Kiev. Today marks the 40th day since the alleged attack on the Druzhba oil pipeline, and we haven't received any relevant response. ... We want Ukraine to behave in a truly cooperative manner towards the Slovak Republic, which supports it on its path to the European Union," said Blanar. The minister also confirmed the prime minister's words that Slovakia is prepared to take further reciprocal measures if necessary. According to Dubeci, it would be appropriate to address contentious issues directly on the spot. "If someone wants to defend Slovakia's national interests, they should pluck up the courage to go to Kiev and discuss these matters directly with their partner," he said. However, he admitted that the Ukrainian side should be more transparent. "I consider it to be a fundamental problem that information from the Ukrainian side is not flowing," he noted, adding that he believes that the situation is also a result of the failure of the foreign policy of Fico's government. am