The outgoing president Ivan Gašparovič, on his final foreign two-day visit to Poland, met with Polish counterpart Bronisław Komorowski to discuss the current developments in Ukraine, TASR learnt from the Presidential spokesperson Marek Trubač on Tuesday.
“The situation in Ukraine demonstrates that old security threats are not a thing of the past”, said Gašparovič, adding that all cases of violence need to be investigated separately. Gašparovič believes that Ukraine should embrace decentralisation and focus on inevitable economic reforms. He also reiterated Slovakia's interest in helping Kiev in all spheres necessary. Komorowski underlined the importance of Sunday's (May 25) Ukrainian presidential election, saying that, “The odds are that this election could pave the way for the stabilisation of Ukraine.” The crisis at hand as well as Russia's behaviour confirms the need to diversify energy sources, thinks Gašparovič. “An energy connection with Poland grows ever more important for us”, he said, adding that Slovakia supports Warsaw in the use of shale gas deposits. The presidents also talked of bilateral co-operation, emphasising the importance of completing the construction of road connection between the two countries, and organising the Winter Olympic Games in both Krakow and the High Tatras mountain range. Poland represents the third largest trade partner of Slovakia with a total turnover of €8.1 billion.
