In an interview published on Wednesday by German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Čaputová was cited as saying: "We see Russia as an important global player with whom we must strive for constructive dialogue. But this can never be at the expense of the values we share in the European Union. This also applies to economic cooperation" with Russia.
Čaputová said that she backed the European Union’s stance on Russia, adding that Slovakia “supports economic sanctions until the situation is normalised, i.e. the fulfilment of the Minsk Agreements."
The agreements are a set of peace accords between Russia and Ukraine, and brokered by France and Germany. They aimed to end an ongoing separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine, where clashes between Ukrainian troops and Russian-backed forces have killed thousands.
The European Union imposed sanctions on Moscow after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014. EU leaders in June agreed to prolong economic sanctions until January 2020.
(pk/gs)
Source: PAP/niezalezna.pl/Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung