Korcok: Slovakia Sees No Reason to Evacuate Diplomats from Kiev

Bratislava/Brussels, January 24 (TASR) – Slovakia sees no reason to evacuate its diplomats from Kiev even with the current tension prevailing on the eastern Ukrainian border, chief of Slovak diplomacy Ivan Korcok declared at the EU Foreign Affairs Council held in Brussels on Monday.

“On the contrary, the presence (of diplomats) is important because it confirms our capability to effectuate a political solution. The diplomatic presence has its indispensable place in it,” claimed Korcok.

Meanwhile, the Slovak minister stated that EU member states have not yet decided on the severity of possible new sanctions against Russia, but are ready to introduce them in the event of Russia’s aggression.

“What we’re seeing is only a few hundred kilometres from Slovakia’s borders. This is fundamentally affecting us. The situation is really serious. Russia has placed several demands on the table, which it addresses mainly to NATO and the United States. I want to say that there’s readiness to talk about everything but we can’t afford to question the basic principles on which the security architecture in Europe, established after 1989, is based,” said the Slovak minister.

Korcok added that the fate of countries is decided by their citizens, not other states – and the EU refuses to discuss this. It also rejects Russia’s ultimatum that either its demands are accepted or it’ll be ready to take “unilateral action.”

“This is a bad solution. We still see room for a diplomatic and political solution, but we need to stay at the negotiating table. There are signals that Russia has rejected the NATO invitation for January 27. We’re verifying all this, but it’s crucial to listen to each other and, as for our side, not to back down from the basic principles,” he said, describing the EU’s position.