President: Founding of Czechoslovakia Basis for Independent Slovakia

Bratislava, October 28 (TASR) - The setting up of Czechoslovakia was the basis for the independent Slovak Republic, said President Peter Pellegrini to mark 106 years since the first Czechoslovak Republic was established. The head of state commemorated the anniversary at the Memorial to Czechoslovak Statehood in Bratislava on Monday. "May our exceptional friendship, conditioned by history, confirmed by the present and motivated by shared visions of a free, democratic and prosperous future, continue," said Pellegrini. The president noted that this day showed the vitality of the Slovak nation, "which in the nineteenth century was on the verge of existence, but despite the difficult times in which we were then, more than 1.7 million people identified themselves with the Slovak language and the Slovak nation, and we showed that we had a place on the world map and that it was worth fighting for our self-determination and establishing a common state with our brother Czech nation," said the head of state. Pellegrini also highlighted Milan Rastislav Stefanik, who, according to him, contributed significantly to the setting up of the common state. He also praised other figures who helped to make Slovakia a modern, democratic and civilised country. am/df