PM: New economic sanctions on Russia would damage Slovak economy

New economic sanctions on Russia, proposed by the European Union (EU) and the United States, would damage the Slovak economy, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico announced on Tuesday. Fico said Europe is on a good way to coming out of the crisis next year, adding that Slovakia could achieve an economic growth close to 3 percent, one of the highest levels in the EU, in 2015. "If, however, some geo-political fight again prevails over common sense and there is pressure on Slovakia to take part in some hard economic sanctions in relation to the Russian Federation, we can forget about economic success," said Fico. He added that after a third round of sanctions are imposed, Slovakia will suffer huge damage. Fico said he believes that representatives of other EU-member states are of a similar opinion in regard to economic sanctions.