BRATISLAVA, August 29. /TASS/. Security and peace in Europe cannot be ensured without Russia, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said in remarks broadcast by TA3 television.

"Security and peace in Europe cannot be ensured without Russia. They can only be achieved with Russia. Russia should be criticized when it makes mistakes, but it should not be demonized or pushed out of Europe," the prime minister said.

The prime minister warned against the spread of Russophobia. Western countries, he said, must acknowledge the fact that "Russia exists alongside them as their equal". According to Fico, the European Union is "a peace project, not an instrument for fighting Russia." "The EU does not need more weapons and Russophobia. The EU needs stronger diplomacy and concrete plans for how to help its own economy," he said.