Czech and Slovak presidents pledge to keep Czech–Slovak relations strong

During talks in Prague Czech President Petr Pavel and his Slovak counterpart Petr Pellegrini agreed on the need to maintain strong ties between the two countries, despite disagreements over certain foreign or security policy issues. President Pavel said that citizens expect relations between the Czech Republic and Slovakia to remain as strong as possible and that it is the duty of politicians to create the best conditions for that. He added that he sees no reason why regular intergovernmental consultations, suspended by outgoing Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s cabinet due to differing foreign policy views, could not be renewed.

Pellegrini added that the two presidents also discussed strengthening the Slavkov format — which brings together the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Austria — and which, under Slovakia’s presidency, will continue with a spring summit in Bratislava.

Asked about the future of the Visegrad Group (V4 – Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary), President Pavel said he sees no point in tearing down something that works, adding that the V4 is not just about government meetings; it’s also about cooperation between ministries, culture, sport, history, and ordinary people.