Fiala says development of Czech-Slovak relations "extremely important" after meeting with Pelligrini

Prime Minister Petr Fiala said after meeting with Slovak President Peter Pellegrini on Wednesday afternoon that the development of relations between Czechia and Slovakia are extremely important and that he appreciated the fact that Mr Pellegrini upheld the tradition of making Czechia the destination of his first official foreign visit as the new Slovak head of state. The two politicians met for roughly half an hour at Straka Academy, the seat of the Czech government in Prague, where they discussed bilateral relations, defence cooperation, and the agenda for the upcoming European Council meeting.

Shortly before the meeting, the Slovak government criticised the Czech prime minister for a statement he made on Tuesday saying that resuming intergovernmental consultations with Slovakia would not be on the agenda for the meeting and that it was premature to even consider it given the health status of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. Bratislava accused the Czech prime minister of being disrespectful. A spokesperson for the Czech government said that on the contrary, Mr Fiala's statement was an expression of respect for the Slovak Prime Minister, who is currently convalescing at home after the assassination attempt against him in May.

The Czech cabinet suspended intergovernmental consultations between Czechia and Slovakia in March due to disagreements over key foreign policy issues.