Slovenian FM hails Putin visit successful

Slovenian Foreign Minister Karl Erjavec has expressed satisfaction with the unofficial visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Slovenia on Saturday, beliving it would help deepen bilateral economic ties.

"The day at the Russian Chapel and Zale (cemetery) was filled with emotion. The emotions will certainly deepen the friendly relationship between Slovenia and Russia," Erjavec said in an interview with Vecer, the Maribor-based paper on Monday.

He said "the emotions are also key to deepening cooperation in other fields. In particular in economy where Russia is the most important partner of Slovenia outside the EU(European Union)."

"I assess that it was a successful visit that will yield certain results," Erjavec said, adding the two sides used the opportunity of what was a primarily commemorative visit for many talks at various levels.

He said that Putin and Slovenian President Borut Pahor talked at quite some length about economic cooperation and about issues caused by international crises.

During his visit, Putin attended a ceremony marking the 100th anniversary of the Russian Chapel below the Vrsic mountain pass at Kranjska Gora. The chapel was built to commemorate Russian and World War I prisoners of war who died in an avalanche.

As part of the visit, Karl Erjavec and Russian Minister of Communications and Mass Media Nikolay Nikiforov agreed for the bilateral economic cooperation commission they co-chair to meet in the autumn.

With Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexey Meshkov, Erjavec discussed former Slovenian President Danilo Turk's bid for the post of the United Nations secretary general, according to the newspaper. Endit