Foreign and European Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák on Friday in Bratislava opened a Slovak-Russian business forum, which he described as a viable form of economic co-operation between the two countries and emphasised that the importance of the forum lies in specific projects.
Broaching the topic of the Ukrainian crisis, Lajčák conceded that the issue affects business relations between Russia and the European Union; but at the same time he expressed his firm belief that Slovakia and Russia will be able to overcome these tense relations. The forum featured approximately 130 representatives of Russian and Slovak business entities along with those representing the state.
More on the issue of business cooperation between Russia and Slovakia, but also other EU countries, Prime Minister Róbert Fico said on Slovak Radio's political discussion programme 'Sobotné dialógy' (Saturday Dialogues) that the Western economic sanctions against Russia would hurt the European Union (EU) the most: "If the so-called third level of economic sanctions were imposed, Slovakia would be affected to such an extent that from around one million cars produced in Slovakia today, about a quarter of the production which is exported to Russia would be put on hold. Not to mention other things," said Fico. Fico also pointed out that according to experts' estimates, in 2015 Slovakia should have one of the highest economic growth rates in the EU - higher than 3 percent of GDP. "But with potential new sanctions against Russia, our economic growth won't be 3 %, but it will be 1 %," he added.
