Speaking at a press conference in the High Tatra mountains on Tuesday, outgoing Czech President Milos Zeman, who is on his last official visit to Slovakia, stated that he hopes the Czech Republic's excellent relations with Slovakia will continue under the tenure of his successor Petr Pavel.
"Relations between the two countries are not only smooth, I would say they're even excellent. I hope that Slovakia can resolve its internal political problems. Looking at it from the outside, they look like overly dynamic developments. We've experienced similar periods in the Czech Republic, but we've always managed to resolve them diplomatically," said Zeman.
The Czech President expressed his appreciation for the fact that Slovak President Zuzana Caputova was among the few politicians who came to visit him personally when he was in hospital in 2021. He added that it was at that moment when her humanity, which he appreciates most about her, came out. "I've met a lot of politicians who lacked humanity, and they ended badly most of the time. I believe that thanks to this, [Caputova] will make her mark in Slovak, European and world politics," he remarked.
Caputova praised Zeman's choice of the High Tatras for his farewell visit to Slovakia. "This visit is exceptional precisely because it is the last one during the president's term of office and in terms of our cooperation. This is our thirteenth meeting in the past four years. I'm grateful for the cooperation that we've had during this difficult period. Many times we had different opinions on some matters, but I very much appreciate it that we could always discuss them in a very open and mutually respectful atmosphere," said Caputova.
The Slovak President highlighted the quality of Czech-Slovak relations, which, according to her, was especially evident in situations when there was a need to help each other. "The Czech Republic commands a multinational battle group in Slovakia, along with Poland it protects our skies, Slovak firefighters helped with the devastating fires in the Czech Republic, and we could find many other examples when mutual assistance was a matter of course," added Caputova, stating that she hopes both countries will maintain this kind of relationship.
The President also added that she believes that, together with the Czech President-elect Petr Pavel, they will be a strong voice of sense and respect for European values in the region.
The Czech President-elect, whom she came to congratulate on the election result in person, is close to her in terms of opinion and values, said Caputova. Therefore, she expects good and constructive cooperation. "I am looking forward to the cooperation. I believe that it will be intense and that together we will be able to be a strong voice of sense, pro-Western orientation and respect for European values within the region," said the Slovak President, indicating the future form of cooperation with Pavel.
Zeman noted that although he didn't vote for Pavel, he respects the will of voters and wishes continuation of the successful Czech-Slovak cooperation. "I wish Mr. Petr Pavel, whom I will meet on February 13, to be successful in the interest of the Czech Republic," said Zeman.
Zeman's visit to Slovakia should last three days. On Tuesday he also met with interim Premier Eduard Heger and former Presidents Rudolf Schuster and Andrej Kiska. On Wednesday he is to meet with Parlimentary Chair Boris Kollar (Sme Rodina). (TASR)
