Moscow – Slovakia’s Prime Minister, Robert Fico, on Friday denounced European Union’s sanctions against Russia after meeting with the Russian President, Vladimir Putin on Thursday.
“Personally, I think it’s time to consider the sanctions rationally and say they are harmful to both the EU and Russia,” Fico said, adding that the sanctions had resulted in absolutely nothing for the sensitive issues they were supposed to impact.
“With Putin yesterday, we agreed that our common goal is to revitalize commerce,” he said.
Fico had repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with the sanctions imposed over Russia’s involvement in the Ukraine crisis.
He was scheduled on Friday to meet with several European leaders, including German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, one of the staunchest supporters of the sanctions.
He was set to participate in talks with a group, Visegrad, which comprises of Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic.
Slovakia currently holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union. (dpa/NAN)