MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Sunday, January 12, 2025 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Saturday, January 11): BRATISLAVA - Speaking on STVR's politics programme 'Sobotne dialogy' (Saturday Dialogues), President Peter Pellegrini said that his trip to Ukraine is out of the question under the current circumstances, explaining that the Ukrainian government has stopped gas supplies and refuses to transit gas to Slovakia. "In a situation where the Ukrainian government and President [Volodymyr Zelenskyy] have decided to cut off our gas supplies, they refuse to transit it to Slovakia, thus fundamentally endangering Slovakia's energy security. In a situation where the Ukrainian parliament adopts a law that is to ban the transport of oil to Slovakia, even though we have valid contracts, under such circumstances my trip to Ukraine is currently out of the question," said the head of state. Pellegrini as president will always keep Slovakia's interests in mind. He notes Prime Minister Robert Fico's (Smer-SD) declaration that if Ukraine stops oil supplies to Slovakia, this cannot go unnoticed. In his opinion, it is the government's duty to guarantee energy security for Slovakia. BRATISLAVA - Speaking on STVR's politics programme 'Sobotne dialogy' (Saturday Dialogues), President Peter Pellegrini criticised the government for insufficient communication with the people on various proposals and measures it is adopting. The head of state added that the same applies to crisis situations, such as the one with the land registry. The president would also recommend to Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) to "go back" to his homeland and to focus on the problems plaguing Slovakia and not to choose what is and is not a "prime ministerial" topic. "Overall, I recommend the government to go back to the basics, and that is the Government Manifesto," he noted. On the other hand, Pellegrini praised the cabinet for ensuring stable energy prices for this year. In his State of the Republic address, Pellegrini will ask the government and instruct parliament to deal with those issues that need to be addressed. He thinks that the election of the House chair could contribute to the political stabilisation of Slovakia. BRATISLAVA - In a reaction to the information in the media, Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) confirmed on a social network on Saturday that he had recently been on holiday in Vietnam, spending nine days there and staying at a resort. Fico denied that he spent two weeks in a luxury hotel in Hanoi presented in the media. At the end of his stay in Vietnam, the prime minister said he was invited by his foreign partners to Hanoi for an informal meeting. "The Vietnamese side provided transport logistics, security and the venue for the meeting. The venue of the meeting, which was also connected with meals, was a hotel, which is the subject of such a huge interest today," said Fico. Pezinok, January 11 (TASR) - A man from Kosice accused of illicit arming and engaging in terrorism has been sent to custody, TASR was told by spokeswoman for the Specialised Criminal Court (STS) in Pezinok (Bratislava region) Katarina Kudjakova on Saturday. According to her, the reason for the preventive custody is the fear that the defendant might continue his criminal activities. The court's decision is not final as the accused appealed against it. The appeal will be decided by the Supreme Court. The police arrested the 48-year old man on Tuesday (January 7) morning at the Kosice's borough of Dargovskych hrdinov. Regional Police director Stefan Mulik said on Thursday (January 9) after the charges were filed that police had carried out house searches in Kosice and in a village in the Zemplin area. Experts will examine the seized chemicals, various precursors, components, weapons and explosives to see what could be made from them, he said. "The experts who were on the scene confirmed to us that it is possible to make both poisons and some explosives, a booby-trap, even a pipe bomb, so that's why there was such seriousness on our part about this case," said the director. The same man was also arrested in Kosice in 2021. At that time he was found in possession of various chemical materials and a large quantity of chemicals, dangerous substances and substances for the production of explosives, and even ammunition and non-functional ammunition. As a result of the proceedings at the time, the police charged him with the crime of illicit arming and trafficking in weapons, and he was given a suspended sentence in court. The police reported that the accused had become radicalised and had been approving violence, describing various massacres on the internet, posting radical views with left-wing extremist inclinations and instructions on the manufacture of weapons and explosives that could inspire others and incite them to commit terrorist crimes. BRATISLAVA - Education labour unionists held talks with Education Minister Tomas Drucker (Voice-SD) on Friday (January 10), but no agreement has been reached yet, with negotiations slated to continue, TASR was told by head of Education Labour Unions Pavel Ondek on Friday. "The minister proposed to raise salaries by seven percent for all education employees as of September 2025. Our demand was ten percent," detailed Ondek, adding that the issue of salary raises in 2026 remains open too. Ondek noted that the unionists preliminarily agreed with the minister on the forming of a team of experts to address the salary scheme. am