Lajčák with Lavrov on Ukraine and 1968

Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak, who is also current OSCE chairperson-in-office, held talks on Thursday in Saint Petersburg with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.
The ministers addressed a wide range of topics, emphasising the Slovak presidency of OSCE in 2019 and its priorities aimed at solving conflicts in some countries which are members of the organisations. Special attention was devoted to the situation in eastern Ukraine. The outcome of a round table organised in the Russian State Duma on May 30 by the Communist faction was under negotiation. This proposed a resolution urging the State Duma to pass a bill that would confer veteran status on members of the Soviet Armed Forces who occupied the erstwhile Czechoslovakia in August 1968. In this regard, Lavrov assured Lajcak that this case was an individual initiative of a single MP. Lavrov confirmed that Russia's official stance corresponded to the agreement between Slovakia and Russia on friendly relations and co-operation signed in 1993 and that Russia had no intentions to change its approach.