Czech President and his spouse arrived in Slovakia today for the first official visit following the re-election of Václav Klaus as head of state

Ivan Gašparovič thanked Václav Klaus for coming to Slovakia for his first visit after the presidential inauguration. Both presidents discussed the relationships within V4, the situation in Kosovo, as well as the approval of the Lisbon Treaty and its impact on the functioning of the EU. Ivan Gašparovič reiterated that Slovakia was neither prepared nor convinced about the need to hasten its stance on the recognition of Kosovo. Slovakia will formulate its stance in due time, also because of the views that Kosovo is a signal for 21st century to discuss the issues of national minorities and collective rights. The Slovak president considers the location of the U.S. anti-missile radar base in the Czech Republic to be a mater for discussion between the Czech Republic and the U.S. He appreciates that the Czech side keeps its Slovak counterparts informed about the course of those discussions. Ivan Gašparovič is convinced that Europe and the world would be a safer place if the agreement involved the U.S., Russia and NATO.

Václav Klaus confirmed that the ties between the two countries have been and will continue to be very close. Both presidents discussed the 2008 summit of the V4 presidents to be hosted by the Slovak Republic. They also dealt with the upcoming NATO summit in Bucharest. The Czech president informed his Slovak counterpart about Czech preparations for taking up the EU presidency. According to Václav Klaus, the Kosovo issue is a precedence which may have unfortunate consequences. As he said, this is not an isolated problem that will somehow be solved in the Balkans. He refuted the idea that the location of the anti-missile radar base would pose a security threat. On the contrary, he said, it would enhance security.