Slovak President Zuzana Caputova and her Czech counterpart Petr Pavel attended the opening of a multi-genre festival called Meeting Brno on Thursday, commenting on the topic of humanity and the Slovak president's decision not to run for re-election.
This year, the festival is primarily focused on the theme of the 30th anniversary of the division of the common state and Czech-Slovak relations. At the discussion in Villa Tugendhat in Brno, the Czech Republic, the presidents first spoke about the topic of humanity.
Caputova reiterated her statement from September 2021 on the occasion of Pope Francis' visit to Bratislava. "The world is facing crises and the only way to manage them is cooperation. The only thing we need is humanity," said Caputova. "We're destined to live together and without understanding and mutual understanding we can't do it."
According to Pavel, people can always maintain their own decency, regardless of the environment in which they lived and were brought up. "The fact that they treat others according to the principles they consider to be correct and try to change what is not correct around them, at least within their capabilities," he said.
Caputova also answered a question about her decision not to run for re-election in next year's presidential election. "I considered my strengths, I considered my possibilities to carry out such a responsible mandate. After this careful evaluation, I decided that it wouldn't be honest to play games, to say something different to myself and also to the people who trust me, and to admit that it'll be better, if Slovakia is led in this post by someone with new strength," she said.
Pavel expressed regret over Caputova's decision not to run for re-election. "I work very well with Ms. President, and you won't meet many such people in your life," he said. However, he understands her reasons. "I have never doubted that she performs her office with 100-percent dedication, and such dedication requires a lot of energy," he said.
The location of their talks was quite symbolic. Villa Tugendhat in Brno saw the negotiations between former Slovak premier Vladimir Meciar and former Czech premier Vaclav Klaus on the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992 and the signing of the agreement splitting the Czechoslovak federation in 1993.
Source: TASR
