The President of the Slovak Republic Received the Newly Appointed Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Slovak Republic

President of the Slovak Republic Ivan Gašparovič received the letters of credence from the newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Slovak Republic, Alexander Ivanovich Udaltsov. During the ceremony, the President of the Slovak Republic stressed the importance and significance of the quality of the relations between the Slovak Republic and the Russian Federation, positive tendencies in their development as well as the mutual interest to continue with a comprehensive dialogue. President Ivan Gašparovič also touched the topic of the occupational entry of the Warsaw Pact troops into our territory on 21 August 1968. He expressed his belief that in spite of that complicated period the mutual relations would successfully develop in the future. In addition, he emphasised the fact that the quality of the relations between the countries was not affected by Slovakia’s membership in the EU and NATO. Both partners confirmed that the trade and economic cooperation, in particular in the field of energy, would remain the main pillar of the mutual trade relations. The President of the Slovak Republic also declared Slovakia’s interest in increasing the quality of relations taking into account the ever-rising challenges of the economic and trade area of the Russian Federation. He underlined the interest of Slovakia to develop further the cooperation in the fields of education and science, and he acknowledged the activation of cultural contacts. Following the successful Days of Slovak Culture in the Russian Federation in September 2004, Ivan Gašparovič expressed his conviction that the Slovak public would interestedly welcome the events planned during the Days of Russian Culture in Slovakia. Finally, Ivan Gašparovič wished the newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Slovak Republic a lot of success in his both professional and private lives during his new diplomatic mission.