Pellegrini: We Share Same Opinion with Turkey on Swift End to Wars

Ankara/Bratislava, 9 July (TASR-correspondent) - Slovakia and Turkey share the same approach to resolving military conflicts, believing that any war should be brought to an end as quickly as possible, President Peter Pellegrini told reporters aboard his flight home from Ankara following the NATO summit held on Tuesday and Wednesday (7-8 July). TASR learnt the news from its special correspondent assigned to cover the event. On Thursday, Pellegrini also held bilateral talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "It was the Turkish president who, for the first time since the outbreak of the military conflict, succeeded in bringing both the Russian Federation and Ukrainian delegations to the negotiating table. He was behind the initiative enabling grain exports from Ukrainian ports and was also the first to give impetus to exchanges of prisoners of war," Pellegrini noted. The president said he also discussed next year's Three Seas Initiative summit, which Slovakia will host. "I reiterated my invitation for him to visit Slovakia," he said, adding that Erdogan indicated the time may be approaching to reciprocate visits by Slovak constitutional officials. According to Pellegrini, Slovakia supports Turkey's European perspective, although the country's EU accession process remains suspended because of concerns over the deteriorating state of human rights and the rule of law. Pellegrini argued that, given the current complex security environment, it would be wrong for the European Union to isolate itself. He noted that Turkey is NATO's second-largest military power and a key geopolitical player and guarantor of stability in its region. "We should seek to remove these barriers and pursue a more pragmatic approach between the EU and Turkey in these challenging times," he said, adding that this was the position Slovakia had conveyed to Erdogan. Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) said Turkey was also an important partner because of its bid to join the EU. He added that both countries will work to strengthen people-to-people ties and that Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was ready to take part in a V4+ meeting. Responding to a question from journalists, Pellegrini said he believed Ukraine's European perspective was "very, very distant", citing informal comments by other European leaders. He added that he did not support shortcuts or the application of double standards. mf