Poland's Andrzej Duda and Slovenia's Nataša Pirc Musar held face-to-face talks at Brdo Castle near the Slovenian capital on issues including regional security and international assistance to Ukraine, according to officials.
The Polish President's Office said Duda and Musar talked about "economic cooperation, European issues" and joint efforts as part of the Three Seas Initiative of European countries between the Baltic, Black and Adriatic Seas.
The two also discussed the Polish leader's proposal to increase defence spending across NATO in response to Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, according to the Polish President's Office.
Duda told reporters that he and Musar had spoken about "how to protect ourselves against possible further imperial attempts by Russia" and "how to build sufficient deterrence potential against a potential enemy."
Musar said her talks with Duda focused on "the current global and EU affairs and our cooperation in NATO and other multilateral organisations, as well as strengthening economic cooperation between our countries."
During his visit to Slovenia, Duda was also scheduled to meet with the country's Prime Minister Robert Golob and attend a Polish-Slovenian business forum.
The Polish president in May 2022 thanked Slovenia for supporting an initiative to grant Ukraine European Union candidate status.
On June 23, 2022, EU leaders formally approved Ukraine as a candidate to join the 27-nation bloc, in a move hailed by many as historic.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, starting the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II.
Wednesday is day 756 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
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Source: IAR, PAP