PRAGUE, June 7. /TASS/. The European Union’s anti-Russian trade and economic sanctions are telling negatively of the Slovak economy, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Sunday.

"Intellectual may care little that Slovakia might lose hundreds millions euro. That’s up to them, but I cannot ignore [Slovakia’s] economic interests," he said in an interview with the TA3 news channel. "Russia is a major partner and it would be a mistake not to recognize this fact."

"If they [the sanctions - TASS] are harmful for Slovakia, I will be strongly against them," he underscored.

"We must protect our interests," he said. "Russia is a country which has lots of contacts with the entire world. It is impossible to solve such problems as, for example, the Iranian nuclear programme or the crisis in Syria, without contacts with Russia.".