Lajcak: People in Ukraine Suffering Every Day, We Must Act

Washington, April 3 (TASR-correspondent) - Slovak Foreign Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajcak (a Smer-SD nominee) stated on Tuesday after meeting US Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker in Washington that the current presidential election and general election that will take place in Ukraine in the autumn shouldn't be allowed to disrupt or slow down efforts to deal with the situation in the country because people are suffering there on a daily basis, and everything must be done to alleviate this. Lajcak informed Volker about the steps that Slovakia as current OSCE chair country has taken and other concrete plans regarding Ukraine. "[Volker] said that we have the full support of the USA, that they are familiar with the plan and that they consider it to be ambitious but feasible and that we can count on their support," stated Lajcak. Even though the negotiating teams have to wait for the result of the presidential election in Ukraine, Lajcak and Volker agreed that neither the presidential election nor the general election in the autumn should throttle back efforts to deal with the situation in the country. "We can't waste this year in any way just because there is a presidential election and a general election in the autumn. People are suffering every day, and that's why we must, irrespective of the election schedule, do everything we can to alleviate the suffering at least slightly," stated Lajcak. Lajcak later on Tuesday awarded a Gold Plaque of the Slovak Foreign and European Affairs Minister to former assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs A. Wess Mitchell as a token of appreciation for his merits in developing relations between the USA and Slovakia. Lajcak is on a three-day working visit to the USA. Besides presenting the Slovak OSCE presidency, he'll participate in a session of foreign affairs ministers of NATO-member countries to mark the 70th anniversary of the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. He'll also give a speech at a conference on the past and future of the Alliance. zel/df