Putin at Meeting with Fico: NATO and EU Are Imposing Confrontational Policy (2)

Moscow/Bratislava, 9 May (TASR) - The European Union and NATO are imposing a confrontational policy, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during his talks with Slovak Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) in the Kremlin on Saturday, TASR has reported based on a story published by the TASS agency. "Of course, we understand that [bilateral relations between Russia and Slovakia] are now complicated by events related to what is happening in Ukraine and by the foreign policy environment. By the confrontational line that, as we believe, is being imposed on all of us by both the EU and NATO," said the Russian head of state. "Russian-Slovak relations for many years, including during your previous terms as premier, were characterised by a high level of political dialogue and stable cooperation dynamics," stated Putin, noting that Fico's government is striving to pursue a sovereign foreign policy and build a pragmatic course toward Russia. Fico during his meeting with Putin stated that Russia and Slovakia are united by history, particularly because of the Soviet people's role in the liberation of Slovakia. "History unites us tremendously. I do not accept the distortion of historical facts. I support the idea of a sovereign Slovak policy directed toward everyone interested in normal friendly relations with the Slovak Republic," said Fico. Fico also informed Putin about the outcome of his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov told reporters. Ushakov added that since Zelenskyy didn't convey any specific message, "it turned out that Fico simply informed [Putin] in considerable detail about what he had discussed with Zelenskyy". In addition to Ushakov, the Russian delegation attending the talks included Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev, Vice-premier Alexander Novak, and Education and Science Minister Valery Falkov. The Rosatom chief said that the company is ready to participate in various formats of construction of gigawatt-scale nuclear power units in Slovakia and continue to develop its projects in Slovakia, Hungary and Bulgaria. Rosatom also believes in accelerating the construction of the Paks nuclear power plant in Hungary. NOTE: This story has been extended to include paragraph 5. ko