The success and completion of Slovak-Hungarian joint projects is in Bratislava’s interest, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico told MTI’s local correspondent in Hradec Kralove, Slovakia, on Saturday.
Fico said projects started in past years such as building gas transport and electricity networks, linking roads and building bridges over the Ipel and Danube were vital.
“At the first meeting I had with (Hungarian prime minister) Viktor Orban in Warsaw in April I already made it very clear that neither Hungary nor Slovakia could afford failure these days. We both need success and this can only be managed if we look not back but into the future and seek cooperation,” he told MTI.
“We are very ready to implement these projects,” he said.
Asked about Slovak-Hungarian relations, which had suffered some tensions over the past few years, Fico said Slovakia’s interest was to see all of its minorities, including Hungarians, live in comfort in the country. He said this was also what they expected of other countries to provide where a Slovak community lived.
“As far as relations between Slovakia and Hungary go, we must be aware of the fact that we are very close neighbours. Times are not fit for picking old sores,” he said.
Fico said after briefly meeting Attila Mesterhazy, leader of the Hungarian opposition Socialists earlier in the day, that cooperation would be initiated between his party, the Smer, and the Socialists.
