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Fico: Slovakia fully supports Turkey’s membership in the European Union

by AI | 20.Jan 2025 | Europe in brief AI

Robert Fico promised Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to help integrate Turkey into the EU.

Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Robert Fico promised Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan support for joining the EU. Photo: TASR

Bratislava/Ankara – Slovakia fully supports Turkey’s membership in the European Union. It is willing to share its experiences from the accession processes. Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) declared this on Monday at a joint press conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, reports a special correspondent of TASR from Ankara.

Fico also invited Erdogan to visit Slovakia. He appreciated that Slovak and Turkish partners are getting closer to achieving a mutual trade level of five billion euros per year.

“We acknowledge, dear Mr. President, that Turkey continues to show ambition to become a full-fledged member of the European Union. I offered and continue to offer all our experiences from the demanding pre-accession negotiations before 2004, but above all, we offer our experiences from the huge mistakes we made in 2004 or in the years preceding them,” declared Fico. He emphasized the importance of Slovakia’s membership in the European Union and NATO.

The Turkish president highlighted the relations between Slovakia and Turkey. He believes that the signed documents concerning cooperation in various fields, such as culture, military, and economy, will further strengthen them. Fico sees room for cooperation between the countries, for example, in nuclear energy, water management, or the automotive industry.

The Slovak Prime Minister encouraged Turkey to become a country that could host “key players” and contribute to peace in Ukraine. According to him, Slovakia does not have the ambition to organize a top-level meeting, but rather events of a peaceful nature at lower levels.

According to Fico, there is no military solution to the conflict in Ukraine. “A just peace must primarily be one that satisfies both sides, a just peace must be one that respects the causes of this war as well,” declared Fico. He believes that one must be realistic regarding the issue of peace. He thinks that in today’s situation, it is impossible to expect the Russian Federation to leave the territories it controls. He also does not foresee Ukraine’s membership in NATO. (January 20)