BRATISLAVA, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and visiting U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday discussed bilateral cooperation in nuclear energy, as well as possible energy cooperation between the Visegrad Four (V4) countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia) and the United States.
According to the News Agency of the Slovak Republic, Fico said his government plans to establish a multinational consortium with the U.S. support to "guarantee that Slovakia could build another 1,200-megawatt nuclear unit by 2040."
Regarding energy cooperation, Fico expressed his interest in possible joint negotiations between the V4 countries and the United States. Slovakia will take over the V4 presidency on 1 July this year.
On Jan. 16, the United States and Slovakia signed an intergovernmental agreement to expand cooperation in the civil nuclear program. Fico said that the agreement opened the door to negotiations on the supplies of U.S. nuclear technology to Slovakia.
At the joint press conference following their Sunday meeting, Fico underlined that the most important thing is mutual respect between Slovakia and the United States, acting as allies on matters of common interest, and seeking common solutions when differences arise.
In an apparent effort to soften earlier critical and dismissive remarks about Europe by U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance, Rubio said the United States wants Europe to be its "partner" rather than "its vassal." ■
