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Miro Cerar and Taavi Rõivas. Tallinn, 4.02.2015. Photo: valitsus.ee

In addition to security matters, the Prime Ministers also discussed the promotion of economic relations between the two countries.

“Russia has a direct and clear role in the conflict, and it is responsible for the deterioration of the situation in Ukraine,” stated Rõivas and noted that the European Union stands united on security matters – this was confirmed by the extraordinary meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council on 29 January, where it was decided to extend the sanctions against Russia until September of this year.” At the extraordinary summit of the European Council next week, we will certainly discuss the options for supporting Ukraine,” Rõivas added.

Prime Minister Cerar, who is on a two-day visit to Estonia, said that the final outcome of the situation in Ukraine is unpredictable and also of concern for Slovenians. “Russia has gone too far in the violation of international law. In this regard, we are certainly in agreement; Slovenia is without doubt in favour of finding a political solution to Russia’s aggression,” stated Cerar.

When talking about the new government of Greece, the Heads of Government agreed that all member states of the EU must comply with their obligations and the EU cannot make an exception at the expense of other member states in the case of Greece.

The Prime Ministers stated that there is room for improvement regarding the promotion of economic relations between Estonia and Slovenia. In particular, expansion in the areas of logistics, tourism, pharmacy, food industry and digital services would be welcome. Rõivas confirmed that Estonia will gladly share its experiences on e-services and e-health and encouraged Slovenia to make investments in Estonia regarding these areas.

Cerar invited the Estonian Head of Government to visit Slovenia and confirmed that the Slovenian delegacy will visit Estonia in March to learn more from Estonia’s experiences on digital services.

Rõivas and Cerar expressed the hope that the planned railway connections will contribute to the improvement of economic relations in the future. While Estonia is striving for the completion of Rail Baltic, Slovenia is also making the same kind of efforts between Slovenia and Central Europe – both projects would connect Estonia and Slovenia by a fast and high-quality railway.