Bratislava, Dec 7, 2018 (AFP)
Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak on Friday said he has abandoned his decision to quit over Bratislava's rejection of the United Nations migration pact, after talking to the prime minister.
"I have decided to continue in the execution of the mandate of the minister of foreign and european affairs," he said in a statement.
Lajcak had handed in his resignation last week after the Slovak parliament and government rejected the UN migration pact, which is focussed on promoting cooperation to deal with the world's growing migrant flows.
A non-partisan nominee of the governing populist-left Smer-SD party, Lajcak backs the pact that is set to be adopted at a conference in Morocco next week.
Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini, who hails from the Smer-SD, had said he would try to persuade Lajcak to stay, but added that Slovakia would not backtrack on its rejection of the pact.
On Friday, Lajcak said that both Pellegrini and Smer-SD party chairman Robert Fico had promised that "no steps will be taken or accepted that would cast doubt on the basic pillars of our foreign policy."
"I accept these guarantees in all seriousness. It is only under these circumstances that it makes sense for me to continue," he added.
"I was and I remain convinced that the decision of the Slovak parliament to refuse to be part of a joint effort to deal with migration is not correct."
Slovakia should be "at the table where topics that concern us are discussed," he added.
A career diplomat, Lacjak has served as foreign minister since 2012 and also held the post in 2009-10.
He served as president of the UN General Assembly between September 2017 and 2018.

Sumber : AFP