MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Tuesday, 14 July 2026 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Monday, 13 July): NEW YORK - The responsible use of natural resources, as well as strengthening transparency and international cooperation in their management, are essential prerequisites for preventing armed conflicts and building long-term peace, Foreign and European Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) stated on Monday at an informal meeting of the United Nations (UN) Security Council dedicated to the relationship between natural resources, peace, and security. According to him, natural resources are at the heart of global economic development, energy transition, and technological innovation. "However, their illegal exploitation continues to finance armed groups, prolong conflicts, and weaken state institutions. That's precisely why it's necessary to improve the governance of natural resources as part of efforts to prevent conflicts and keep peace," he said. Slovakia's chief diplomat also pointed out that the international community has already established several mechanisms to support the responsible sourcing of strategic raw materials and the traceability of supply chains. According to Blanar, however, there's still a lack of better coordination and interconnectivity among them. Future solutions should therefore build on existing tools, promote their more effective implementation, and prevent the creation of duplicate mechanisms. "The future international framework should strengthen conflict prevention through greater transparency and accountability in the use of natural resources. At the same time, it must promote sustainable development and ensure that local communities and producer countries benefit fairly from the use of natural resources," added the minister, noting that it's equally important to promote international cooperation and develop tools that will help countries strengthen their governance, institutions, and resilience. Blanar also highlighted Slovakia's experience with cross-border cooperation in the fields of energy and water management. "Our experience shows that trust, dialogue, and common rules can significantly ease tensions and contribute to stability," he stressed. BRUSSELS - At Monday's meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council (FAC), member states didn't adopt the 21st package of sanctions against Russia, however, according to Foreign Ministry State Secretary Marek Estok, the package doesn't contain anything that would run counter to Slovakia's economic interests. "The discussion will continue; it will proceed at the ambassadorial level at Coreper [permanent representatives to the EU] this Wednesday. There are still some open questions, and without going into details, I can say that, as far as Slovakia is concerned, this package contains nothing that would run counter to the economic interests of the Slovak Republic," stated Estok. The state secretary asserts that Slovakia has a very effective mechanism in place to verify the measures proposed in the sanctions packages, ensuring that nothing is included that would endanger Slovakia, Slovak companies, or, for example, the supply of energy resources. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha also attended the FAC meeting, and representatives of the member states discussed continued assistance for Ukraine. "I emphasised that Slovakia's position is very clear: we support peaceful dialogue; we don't participate and won't participate in any form of military aid. I stressed that, as has been said, we need to continue helping and supporting Ukraine. Of course, this must go hand in hand with support for peace efforts regarding Ukraine and the search for a peaceful solution," said Estok, noting that a large part of the meeting was devoted to helping Ukraine prepare for the winter. BRATISLAVA - The opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party has called on director of state-owned railway infrastructure operator ZSR Miroslav Garaj to immediately dismiss ZSR security and crisis manager Jan Grof for meeting Russian radicals in St. Petersburg and for participating in the Neva Forum, a propaganda conference, alongside several individuals on sanctions lists. PS security expert Peter Bator reported on Monday that the party is also calling on the ZSR head to conduct a security audit within the company. The audit should determine what information Grof has had access to, what information he's handled, and what information and systems he may have shared with the individuals that he met in Russia. "We're also calling on Transport Minister [Jozef] Raz [a Smer-SD nominee] - who has nothing to do with this - to oversee the entire process. And we're calling on the National Security Authority (NBU) to determine whether Grof holds security clearance," said Bator, adding that if he does hold security clearance, the agency should immediately open an investigation and begin verifying all the facts at its disposal. "Based solely on what we've discovered, I know that all the issues that we've listed could pose a huge problem and lead to you losing your clearance very quickly," he added. Parliamentary vice-chair and member of the committee overseeing SIS operations Martin Dubeci (PS) announced that as early as Monday a so-called unscheduled inspection of the Slovak Intelligence Service (SIS) will be requested. "The goal will be to find out what measures SIS will take in this matter, and how it assesses the overall risk of a security breach, whether this is to infrastructure or our civil service," said Dubeci, adding that if it is felt that the information provided is insufficient or requires a meeting of the entire committee, such a meeting will be requested without delay. Bator explained that the Neva Forum is a regular conference focused on more effective governance in Russia. Several individuals on sanctions lists participate in it, including representatives of Myanmar's military junta. "This forum serves to spread propaganda narratives and uses foreign guests specifically for that purpose," noted Bator, adding that the event is organised by Campus Ranepa of the Presidential Academy, which he described as "the main breeding ground for Putin regime staff". This organisation has also been on sanctions lists since 2025. ZSR has responded by telling TASR that the company's general director will ask the National Security Authority to re-screen Grof. "To rule out any doubts regarding his ability to serve as director of the security and crisis management department, a higher level of security clearance than he has had to date will be required," said ZSR spokesperson Petra Lanikova. ZSR still doesn't consider Grof's private visit to St. Petersburg to be a threat to the security of railway infrastructure or of Slovakia. "As we stated last week, should the state's intelligence or security agencies investigate this matter, the ZSR management will cooperate fully," added Lanikova. BRATISLAVA - President Peter Pellegrini departed on Monday for an official visit to Azerbaijan at the invitation of President Ilham Aliyev. Pellegrini will be accompanied in Azerbaijan by Defence Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD), Economy Minister Denisa Sakova, Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok (both Voice-SD) and Slovak central bank (NBS) governor Peter Kazimir. The main item on the agenda will be a meeting with the Azerbaijani president regarding the Karabakh region. The two sides are expected to discuss, in particular, deepening energy cooperation, supporting Slovak exports, developing industrial and technological cooperation, improving transport links between the two countries, as well as opportunities for Slovak partners to participate in projects aimed at reconstructing and developing conflict-affected areas. In Agdam region, Pellegrini will become acquainted with the 'Smart Village' project in Bash Garvanda, and he'll lay the cornerstone for a new school to be named after General Milan Rastislav Stefanik. On Wednesday (15 July), the Slovak head of state will travel to Baku, where he'll hold talks with Prime Minister Ali Asadov and Parliamentary Chair Sahiba Gafarova. Later, in the capital of Azerbaijan, Pellegrini will meet Slovak Salesian Vladimir Fekete, Bishop of the Apostolic Prefecture of Azerbaijan. In Baku, in addition to the president's programme, a Slovak-Azerbaijani business forum is scheduled to take place. Slovak businesspeople will participate in the event, which will provide an opportunity to expand business cooperation, establish new partnerships and support Slovak companies in their efforts to enter the Azerbaijani market, stated the President's Office. BRATISLAVA - Prosecutor-General Maros Zilinka has removed the head of the District Prosecutor's Office in Spisska Nova Ves and the deputy district prosecutor from their posts over the case involving the murder of a teacher in Gelnica (Kosice region), Zilinka announced on social media on Monday, adding that he made the decision in response to serious findings concerning a criminal case that preceded the tragedy. Zilinka stated last week that the Prosecutor-General's (PG) Office had identified serious breaches of the law in criminal proceedings that preceded the murder in Gelnica, noting that pre-trial proceedings linked to domestic violence that resulted in a criminal order being issued against the teacher's husband, who allegedly later went on to murder his wife, weren't conducted in accordance with the law. According to the PG's Office, the conduct for which Tomas V. [name abbreviated due to legal reasons] was prosecuted was incorrectly qualified as the offence of making dangerous threats; he should have been prosecuted for the crime of domestic abuse. Preliminary findings from the Justice Ministry's oversight review and case file inspection into the tragic murder of the teacher from Gelnica support the prosecution's conclusions, the ministry's press department has told TASR, concurring with Zilinka's statements. The ministry expects to complete its review by the end of July and will then disclose all of its findings. The Police Presidium communications and prevention department has confirmed for Slovakia that the Police Corps is insisting on the conclusions of an independent inspection authority and an independent expert unit. This wasn't questioned by the prosecutor-general in his conclusions from the review, either. Zuzana V. died on 20 June in Gelnica after being attacked by her husband. He's been charged with murder and remains in custody pending trial. mf