Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Slovak counterpart Ivan Korcok discussed prospects for the development of bilateral relations and the battle against the novel coronavirus in a phone call on Wednesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
The foreign ministers confirmed a common bid to continue constructive cooperation on all issues of mutual interest. They “discussed the current state and prospects for Russian-Slovak relations with an emphasis on advancing successful projects in the trade-economic and humanitarian sectors,” the ministry said.
They also focused “on the issue of fighting against the spread of the novel coronavirus infection and the importance of coordinated international action in the battle against similar global threats,” the ministry added.
Lavrov and Korcok also paid attention to the importance of thorough preparations for the 21st session of the intergovernmental commission for economic, scientific and technical cooperation, scheduled for autumn. The Russian diplomat also thanked the leadership and citizens of Slovakia “for an attitude of care towards the memory of the Soviet soldiers killed in fights against the Nazis during the liberation of Czechoslovakia.”
Besides, at the request of Ivan Korcok, Lavrov gave a detailed assessment of the situation with the implementation of the Minsk accords for the settlement in eastern Ukraine. “[Lavrov] emphasized inadmissibility of Kiev’s policy to sabotage direct negotiations with Donetsk and Lugansk and to undermine consistent action from the parties in the conflict in violation of resolution 2202 of the UN Security Council,” the Foreign Ministry said.