Presidents of Visegrad Four countries (V4) jointly condemned the Russian aggression in Ukraine at their Tuesday summit, the fulcrum of which was also the energy crisis. Presidents Milos Zeman (Czech Republic), Katalin Novak (Hungary), Andrzej Duda (Poland) and Zuzana Caputova (Slovakia) announced this at a joint press conference in Bratislava held on the same day. The meeting was convened under the auspices of Slovakia's V4 Presidency.
Caputova condemned rocket attacks against civilians and called them a display of Russian weakness and cynicism. Together with Novak, the two heads of states underlined the need for just peace. "All it would take is for Russian soldiers to leave Ukraine and for Russia to respect internationally recognised borders of the sovereign state," claimed Caputova. On behalf of all presidents, Caputova voiced support for the sanctions against Russia and called for more coordinated European solutions to tackle the growing energy prices.
Duda believes that it's imperative to put war criminals on trial. He's confident that Ukraine can manage to drive away the occupants, regain control over the entirety of its land, including regions lost in 2014. In terms of energy security, he emphasised the importance of interconnected pipelines. "We're capable of helping each other out," he said, adding that such interconnectivity must be built not only among the V4 countries but also with wider scope.
An extraordinary NATO council at the level of presidents could be held next week at the request of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said Duda who had conveyed Zelensky's request to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg already.
With respect to the energy crisis, Zeman talked about the need to have a friendly discussion on varying opinions, pointing to pernicious effects of the so-called Green Deal on energy prices. In Zeman's view, renewable energy sources, in light of their instability, should be complemented by conventional ones, including nuclear energy. With all respect for the environment, it's necessary to take care of humanity inhabiting the planet first, he added.
The presidents see no problem with the fact that, unlike the rest of the V4 group, Hungary provides no military aid to Ukraine and respect Budapest's different stance. Novak added that the four countries subscribe to same views on issues of consequence and difference of opinions regarding other issues is only natural. (TASR)
