Fico: Slovakia will never let Serbia down on Kosovo issue

BELGRADE - Slovak PM Robert Fico said on Thursday in Belgrade Slovakia and Serbia were able to rely on each other and that his country respected the territorial integrity of Serbia and would never let Serbia down on the Kosovo-Metohija issue.

"I would like to declare very clearly and without any hesitation that we respect the territorial integrity of Serbia, and we will never let you down as far as Kosovo is concerned. Everything is completely clear to us on that issue and I think that, regardless of whether we have been a part of the government or a government coalition, we have been declaring that stance for a long time now, since the inception of the political party whose president I am," Fico said at a press conference with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic at the Palace of Serbia.

He said Slovakia respected the fact Serbia was in pre-accession talks with the EU.

He noted he would like bilateral relations with Serbia to be historic and relations of mutual trust, and congratulated Vucic on Serbia's exceptional economic performance as well as on its independent and sovereign policy that was open to all sides of the world.

He said the discussions with Vucic had demonstrated the great potential of dialogue between politicians promoting an independent and sovereign policy based on the principles of international law, a "policy that does not represent interference in internal affairs of another country, a policy that respects all countries and the path it has chosen."

"I can say we agreed to go to Moscow together in May because we share the same opinion on how fascism needs to be fought, and that we respect the countries that were present during the liberation of our countries at the end of WWII," Fico said.

He noted that he could not forget the attention Serbia was devoting to its Slovak minority.

Fico also said Slovakia wanted to resend troops to Kosovo-Metohija as part of the KFOR mission to help the world get an objective picture of developments in Serbia's southern province.

He said Slovakia would make its know-how and experience in nuclear power generation available to Serbia.

"Due to the war in Ukraine, the traditional supply route has been interrupted and new solutions are being sought. Slovakia yesterday approved the next steps towards building a 1,200 MW nuclear reactor that will help us stabilise our energy supply, as well as produce energy for exports," said Fico, who is on an official visit to Serbia.

He also said the EU should thank Serbia for protecting the bloc's border from illegal migrants.