WEBVTT

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Our next guest is one of the three
European leaders who visited Kyiv

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to meet with President Zelenskiy
about two weeks ago

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to express their support for Ukraine.
You can see him here in blue.

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Janez Janša is the Prime Minister
of Slovenia and joins me now

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from the capital Ljubljana.

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How did you find President Zelenskiy
when you saw him?

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Good morning. We found
President Zelenskiy determined to fight.

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And after our visit

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I'm 100% convinced
that Ukraine will win.

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Time is of the essence,
because people are dying every day.

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We have to do everything we can
to support and help them

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defend themselves.

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We need to find the solution, don't we?
Everybody wants an end to this.

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What do you understand

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to be the details of Ukraine's
proposals for Russia

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after yesterday's talks? And what
do you make of that proposal?

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When we spoke with President Zelenskiy,

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Prime Minister Shmyhal
and their colleagues,

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that Ukraine,
after what happened,

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they are prepared to change
the constitution,

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and propose to their nation

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a referendum,
abandoning their wish to join NATO.

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But at the same time they
want institutional guarantees

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for their security.

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They see these institutional guarantees
for the security

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in the full membership
of the EU

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and stronger guarantees from
world powers than they got

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in the Budapest Memorandum in 1994.

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Can you just be
a little clearer about that?

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I think that they sadly realized

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that they need NATO now.

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And they don't have it. Neither
membership or Article 5 guarantees.

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So why stick with this goal?

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Currently it's not helping them.

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They made a pragmatic decision.

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Because after they win this war,

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NATO will want them to join.

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The situation will be
quite different than it is.

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When they win this war, the Ukrainian
army will be one of the strongest

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armies if not the strongest on the
European continent apart from Russia.

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This last sentence
is also questionable.

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I think now the ball is in our court.

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We have to provide them with
a track to full membership

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and NATO members or democratic
countries across the world

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to support Ukraine with
as much military help as possible.

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This is the only thing that will stop
the war. -Let's talk about that.

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The US is working with Slovakia
to identify the requirements

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that will allow them to give
S-300s to Ukraine.

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Many countries have been hesitant
to send Soviet-era

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air defense systems to Ukraine.

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Is the hesitation due to the
possibility that that would provoke

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Russia to extend
this assault into Europe?

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And do you support any offers
of S-300s? For example

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the Turks have said they are not
sending their S-400s.

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They need their own defense.
Do you support

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any offer of S-300 air defense
missile systems to Ukraine?

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Yes I do support this.

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This is equipment
that Ukraine needs the most,

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because they are against
the defense for the mid

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and high altitudes and Russia

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is dominating those two parts
of the sky.

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So I support this.
But I don't support

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speaking a lot about
what we're giving them.

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I'm supporting strongly
to deliver and not speak about it.

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Some countries are helping and are
not speaking about this help

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and there are some countries
which are speaking and unfortunately

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are reluctant to do something.

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Do you want to be a bit more specific?

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Well,

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for the countries that are helping
and don't want to speak about it,

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I don't want to be specific.

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For those countries that are
reluctant to help,

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we don't know for sure,
which countries these are,

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because they are delivering the help,
but they are denying it publicly

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because of different reasons.
-This is really interesting.

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I don't mean to butt in,

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but this is really interesting,
because we're being told

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that there's a big sense of unity.
There has been a real coming-together

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by Europe and the US,
by NATO allies to ensure

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this kind of pincer-like reaction

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on Russia. Are you telling me
that behind the scenes

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everything is not as unified in Europe
as we might be led to believe?

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Our unity is much bigger
than expected, especially

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bigger than it was expected
from the Kremlin.

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It was also bigger
than I expected,

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because I was aware of the details.

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Russian aggression really
found us unprepared.

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But if we calculate
everything we are doing,

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I don't think it is enough.

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I strongly support the demand

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that President Zelenskiy delivered
during our last NATO Summit,

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when he asked for 1%

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of our military reserves

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to be able to defend themselves.
We aren't together on that,

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we're not giving them 1%
of our reserves.

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Some countries yes, some
countries want more. -I understand.

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But not all.

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Your country is one of Europe's
most dependent countries

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in terms of Russian oil
and gas imports.

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But you've expressed support for
Europe's push to phase out

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that dependance.

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What are you doing to achieve that?
What will the short-term shock effects

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look like in Slovenia?

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Well, thank God, the spring is coming
and the winter is over.

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We are doing everything we can
to get rid of this dependency

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till the end of this year.

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We are speaking with neighboring
countries, with other countries,

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about the alternative sources
and supply routes.

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We will build another pipeline.

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Yesterday, I visited our neighbor
Croatia. We discussed,

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with the increase
of energy terminal in their country

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to be able to supply Slovenia

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and some other
Central European countries.

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I think that

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finishing the dependency
on the Russian energy sources

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will happen much sooner than
the Kremlin is expecting.

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But currently we are facing
a really sad story,

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because with the payments
for the Russian gas, oil and coal

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we are practically
financing the aggression and the war.

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Are you prepared to pay
for Russian energy in rubles

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while you are still dependent on it?

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No, nobody in Europe
is prepared to pay in roubles,

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this is also against
the contracts which were signed

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and I think that the message
from our ministers was very clear.

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I saw the message
from the G7 ministers.

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Nobody will pay in rubles, I believe.

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Actually,
we don't know what they look like.

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Prime Minister, it's good to have
you on. I know you are a busy man.

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I really appreciate it.
Thank you.