Pellegrini and Duda Praise Good Slovak-Polish Relations (2)

Warsaw, July 4 (TASR-correspondent) - President Peter Pellegrini and his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda on Thursday praised good bilateral relations between Bratislava and Warsaw, agreeing that they want to continue with cooperation. The two presidents discussed, among other matters, energy, migration and the situation in Ukraine. It was noted that their respective opinions differed on the issue of when Ukraine's NATO accession talks should begin. "[Poland] is a strategic partner for Slovakia. Considering our trade exchanges and the volume of mutual investments, Poland is one of the top three countries in terms of the largest investors and trading partners for Slovakia," noted Pellegrini. Bilateral relations were also praised by the Polish president, who highlighted that Pellegrini chose Poland as the destination of his second foreign trip in office. Duda at the same time invited Pellegrini to a meeting of the presidents of the informal Arraiolos group to be held in Krakow in the autumn. The presidents also discussed next week's NATO summit in Washington. Duda wants to raise the issue of allied defence spending at this summit and wants NATO countries to increase their share of defence spending to 3 percent of GDP. Slovakia, according to Pellegrini, invests more than 2 percent of its GDP in defence. Another topic was was the presence of NATO troops in Slovakia and Poland. Duda said that at the summit he will ask for an increase in the number of allied troops in Poland. Pellegrini noted that Slovakia is ready for an increase in the number of troops on its territory if necessary. zel/df