Slovakia Hopes for Swift End to Russia-Ukraine Conflict to Resume Cooperation

MOSCOW, May 14. /TASS/. Bratislava hopes that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine will soon be settled, deputy speaker of the Slovak parliament, Tibor Gaspar, told TASS. "We believe that this war will soon end and so, we need to be ready for cooperation (between Slovakia and Russia - TASS)," he said. "As long as we are in a state of sanctions against Russia, this cooperation will be limited," he stated, recalling that "20 packages of (anti-Russian - TASS) sanctions have already been adopted and the European Union is working on the 21st such package." "However, we need to cooperate both in the economic sphere and in culture and sports. Naturally, we will be preparing for this at the government level -- by the time the war ends, which, in my view, is simply blocking this cooperation or preventing us from developing it to its full potential," he pledged. The senior lawmaker cited Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico who said that the country’s "foreign policy is directed toward all the four parts of the world." Fico "meets with representatives of major powers such as Russia, China, and Brazil, and seeks to maintain good relations in order to protect, above all, national interests," Gaspar noted. "At the same time, we are a member of the European Union and must respect certain rules. That is why we now have to adapt to these sanctions, although we criticized them, saying that they are harming the European Union more than Russia," he added.