Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico congratulated Péter Magyar on his victory in Hungary’s parliamentary elections and offered intensive cooperation, Reuters reports.
Fico also expressed gratitude to outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The Slovak, who was a staunch supporter of Orbán, said Slovakia was ready for further close relations and that protecting joint energy interests remained an important goal.
Orbán, a veteran politician, lost the parliamentary elections to Magyar’s center-right Tisza party, which won a majority in parliament. Fico said in a statement that he respected the choice of Hungarian citizens and was ready to cooperate with the new prime minister, whom he congratulated on the election results.
Fico returned to office in 2023, and under his leadership, Slovakia has been a close ally of Hungary.
The two countries have maintained warm relations with the Kremlin, opposed European Union sanctions
against the aggressor state, and continued to import Russian oil and natural gas. Both Hungary and Slovakia have sought to restore oil flows through the Druzhba pipeline. It has been out of service since January, when Kyiv said it was damaged by Russian strikes. Fico stressed that Slovakia, Hungary and other Central European countries remain interested in restoring the pipeline, and added that protecting energy interests with the Hungarians remains a goal of his government.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said last week that repairs to the pipeline would be completed in the spring. Both Fico and Orbán have strained relations with Zelensky.
In a separate statement on Facebook, Fico said that Slovak-Hungarian relations had never been at such a high level before, and praised Orbán for his excellent cooperation and protection of sovereignty and national interests.
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