After his five-year stay as Czech Ambassador to Slovakia, long-time career diplomat Vladimir Galuska is leaving Slovakia and said his farewells to Slovak President Ivan Gasparovic at the Presidential Palace on September 7, the TASR newswire reproted.
"During the five years we haven't experienced any clouds, any problematic points and we agree that relations between the Czech Republic and Slovakia are better than they have ever been, which is just what we want them to be," TASR was told by the departing diplomat, who adds that he leaves with his mission satisfied.
Galuska said that the 2-2 draw in Saturday's football match between the Czech Republic and Slovakia indicates that the Czechs and Slovaks can always even up their positions.
"When I was coming, I said that my task wasn't to build anything new because relations were already practically without problems," said Galuska, who took up the post in 2004 succeeding Rudolf Slansky. Before his assignment in Slovakia, Galuska worked as a permanent Czech representative in the United Nations (UN).
With Gasparovic, he spoke not only about Czech-Slovak relations but also about Slovaks studying in the Czech Republic and Slovak-Hungarian relations.He conceded that he isn't as avid a football fan as Gasparovic and that he watches only championship and international matches. "The Slovak team has better preconditions because its players are younger, more dynamic. Our (Czech) team has gone through a crisis. Those players are past their prime," Galuska said in his evaluation of the squads. TASR
Compiled by Spectator staff from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
