Citizens expect the best possible relations between the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and the role of politicians is to create the best possible conditions for this, said Czech President Petr Pavel in a speech after welcoming his Slovak counterpart Peter Pellegrini to Prague yesterday.
Commenting on the meeting, Pellegrini said it confirmed the mutual interest in strengthening relations and cooperation at regional, cross-border, academic and scientific levels. He also met ANO leader Andrej Babis to discuss energy security and defence policy.
“We did not discuss anything fundamental, we just made sure that the relations between our countries should not be defined only by negotiations between governments, but that they are on many levels,” Pavel told reporters after his meeting with Pellegrini. “On ours, they are without problems, as well as on the level of citizens. The fact that we temporarily disagree on some foreign or security policy issues should not lead us to close the door between us.”
He added that he saw no reason why inter-governmental consultations could not resume. Outgoing Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) suspended the joint meetings between the Czech and Slovak cabinets because of differences of opinion on key foreign policy issues.
Pavel described yesterday’s event as a celebration of the extraordinary nature of Czech-Slovak relations. He noted that it was the Municipal House that witnessed the approval of the law establishing independent Czechoslovakia on 28 October 1918. Marking that occasion, he paid tribute to Milan Rastislav Stefanik (1880-1919), a Slovak-born founding father of Czechoslovakia, who was awarded the highest Czech decoration, the Order of the White Lion, by President Pavel two years ago, in memoriam.
In his statement on Facebook, Pellegrini recalled that the Czechs and Slovaks are members of the common European and North Atlantic areas.
Pellegrini also congratulated Babis on his victory in the parliamentary elections during a gala evening at the Municipal House. In a press release, the Slovak president said that in his conversation with Babis, he stressed the importance of renewing close cooperation between the governments of their two countries. They also discussed nuclear energy and digital transformation.
Pellegrini said they agreed on the need to maintain constructive cooperation within the V4 and to coordinate common positions on European affairs. He said he also believes in maintaining the tradition that the first foreign trip of any new Czech prime minister will be to Slovakia.
“The brotherhood between Slovaks and Czechs is a unique contribution to this community. It is our contribution to a stronger and more prosperous Europe built not only on a solid foundation of values, but also on these friendly relations. And it is also a commitment to the younger generation,” he wrote.
He believes that Czechs and Slovaks will look for new impulses to develop their relations.
Guests at the gala evening included ANO deputy leaders Radek Vondracek and Alena Schillerova, the outgoing foreign minister Jan Lipavsky (ODS), and former president Vaclav Klaus and his wife Livia, a former ambassador to Slovakia.
