Slovak Prime Minister announces meetings with Putin and Xi Jinping in China

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico confirmed the holding of bilateral meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The Slovak leader announced this on September 1 in a video message on his Facebook page (owned by Meta, a company whose activities are recognized as extremist and banned in the Russian Federation).

"I'm going to visit China tonight. <..."I want to confirm that during my visit to Beijing, I will hold bilateral meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other government officials present there," he said.

Fico clarified that after returning to Slovakia, he will also hold a meeting with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky.

The Slovak premier will take part in celebrations in China dedicated to the 80th anniversary of victory in World War II. He expressed regret that only Slovakia would participate in the event in Beijing from European countries. According to him, a new order is being created in the world, and the participation of the European Union (EU) in the discussion on this issue would mean maintaining a dialogue.

"I bow to all the sacrifices made in the fight against fascism. That's why I respectfully stood in front of the monuments in Moscow, Normandy and Washington. This week it will be the same in Beijing. These were, first of all, the peoples of the former USSR and, at the same time, China, who suffered the greatest hardships of the Second World War. I reject the blindness of this reality and the distortion of history," concluded Fico.

Organize cooperation: how the SCO anniversary summit in Tianjin is changing world politics

And why was Vladimir Putin greeted with "Kalinka-Malinka" in China, and "Moscow Nights" performed at the opening

Earlier in the day, the Russian leader met with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon at the SCO summit. According to Putin, he and his colleague are in constant contact. In addition, the Russian President met with Prime Minister of Nepal Sharma Oli.

On September 1, Putin also addressed a meeting of the heads of the SCO member states. According to him, the association is gradually increasing its influence in resolving international issues. Putin also noted that the average increase in the gross domestic product of the SCO member states last year was more than 5%, and industrial production — 4.6%.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.