Slovakia supports sanctions against Belarus and Turkey

At an special two-day EU summit in Brussels, Slovakia is willing to support sanctions against Belarus, as well as possible sanctions against Turkey called for by Cyprus, Prime Minister Igor Matovic (OLaNO) stated on Thursday on his way to a session of the European Council. The Slovak premier emphasised that it is crucial for the European Union to take an "unequivocally resolute" stance to Turkey's aggression towards two EU member states - Cyprus and Greece. In this issue, Matovic is on the side of the Cypriot demand that the EU not address the planned sanctions against Belarus until it first deals with the issue of Turkey's illegal drilling activities in the Eastern Mediterranean. Matovic also added that he expects the EU to take an equally resolute stance in defining relations with China, with which the European Union is currently negotiating a major economic and investment agreement. As the Reuters agency informed, EU leaders broke a diplomatic deadlock earlier on Friday and imposed sanctions on Belarus after hours of summit talks.