Presidents Ivan Gašparovič and László Sólyom hold talks in Nové Zámky

The President of the Slovak Republic Ivan Gašparovič and his Hungarian counterpart László Sólyom held a working meeting aimed at improving bilateral Slovak-Hungarian relations in Nové Zámky on 6 December 2008. “I am pleased that we had the opportunity to meet each other and that this meeting proved to be relevant,” Ivan Gašparovič emphasised after the meeting.

Both politicians agreed that, in their capacity as top representatives of both countries, they bear responsibility for the present as well as future developments in bilateral cooperation. “We also agreed that the atmosphere of understanding, to which we can contribute as heads of state, is of crucial importance to the people and, in particular, the members of national minorities,” Ivan Gašparovič said after the meeting.

“I attempted to draw attention to the fact that the recent ’tensions’ must not overshadow the established mechanism of cooperation based on the treaty between the Republic of Hungary and Slovakia. In the long run, this treaty lived up to expectations in handling practical issues and some quarrels,” the Slovak President emphasised. Gašparovič thinks the Treaty on Good-neighbourly Relations and Friendly Cooperation is indeed a good foundation platform for the development of our relations, including the aspects related to mutual and coordinated care for minorities. “I am convinced that our mutual cooperation and trust between the heads of state may play a considerable role in bringing harmony to our relations in the future,” the Slovak President noted.

At their meeting, Ivan Gašparovič and László Sólyom strongly condemned extremist actions on both sides of the border. According to the Slovak President, extremism disturbs the atmosphere in the relations and contaminates it with certain “political restlessness” which, subsequently, is conveyed to the people. "We are aware of this in Slovakia and we also realize possible implications of extremism, therefore we are making the entire legislation more stringent,” Ivan Gašparovič noted.

The Slovak President expressed appreciation to regional-level civic actions and initiatives, which highlight the positive aspects of our cooperation and confirm that the people do not wish to get involved in quarrels, but rather take every action to prevent such situations from happening.
The heads of state also appreciated the recent meetings between the prime ministers and parliamentary speakers and called for even more intensive contacts.

Following the talks, the Hungarian President László Sólyom was pleased to note that the discussion between both politicians was open and frank. Even though some of our opinions still differ, “we agreed on many points and share the same views on many issues,” the Hungarian President said. He also appreciated that, in the areas of disagreement, he could see positive signs of a solution. According to the Hungarian President, the meeting of the heads of state helped clarify the values which are shared by both countries and which will predetermine further course of action.