Ukraine's and Slovakia's PMs begin consultations in Slovakia

Joint consultations between the Ukrainian and Slovak governments have begun in Košice, Slovakia.

Intergovernmental Ukrainian-Slovak consultations are being held with the participation of Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko and her Slovak counterpart Robert Fico.

"Joint negotiations between the governments of the Slovak Republic and Ukraine are yielding good results," Fico said.

He stressed that these consultations are a very important signal.

"The government of the Slovak Republic supports the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. Our primary interest is to end the war and stop the escalation," he added.

At the end of September, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha met with his Slovak counterpart Juraj Blanár on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

During the conversation, they focused on the future of European security architecture, the potential for defence cooperation through the SAFE mechanism, and energy security issues.

It was also reported that Slovakia wants the approval of the 19th package of EU sanctions against Russia to be brought to the EU leaders' summit on 23 October, otherwise it refuses to approve it.