Bratislava, Feb 1 (CTK) – Czech President Milos Zeman will contribute to further boosting of the special Czech-Slovak relations during his second term in office, Slovak PM Robert Fico has said in parliament in response to a lawmaker’s question.
Zeman was re-elected for another five years last weekend, beating academic Jiri Drahos in the runoff. His inauguration is scheduled for early March.
“I am convinced that during his second term, too, President Zeman will be one of the crucial initiators of further boosting of the special and exceptionally close relations between our countries. Also thanks to Milos Zeman, we are the neighbours who always support each other,” Fico (Smer-Social Democracy) said in his answer, which was read by Deputy PM Peter Pellegrini due to Fico’s absence from the parliamentary session.
Despite Czechoslovakia’s split in 1993, the two successor states are able to cooperate as partners in international groupings, Fico said.
Zeman, who was Czech Social Democrat head and PM at the turn of the millennium, has already said his first foreign trip within his second mandate will be to Slovakia. He also visited Slovakia, in accordance with the tradition, at the close of his current presidential term last December.
Fico said in both the Czech Republic and Slovakia, it is mainly less successful politicians who have been trying to divide the society.
“In polarising society, the biggest success have been the politicians who are less successful in parliamentary elections and seem to try to compensate their election failure by means of dividing the society,” Fico wrote in his response read in parliament.
Fico congratulated Zeman, a personal friend of his, on re-election immediately after the results of the Czech direct presidential race were announced last Saturday.
