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"Only a day left before the hockey," announces SME in the run-up to theInternational Ice Hockey Federation Championship which opens in Bratislava on 29 April. In its report, the daily also notes that the competition is set "to serve as a diplomatic ice-breaker.” Over the last six months, Slovak diplomats have been hoping that the sport which is very popular in Russia will help improve their country’s troubled relations Moscow. Already the championship has resulted in plans to re-establish a direct air link with Russia, which should be running by the end of June, and the number of visa applications from Russian tourists is set to increase by 70 percent this year. “It is a very useful communications tool for reaching out to ordinary people as well as official representatives, and an excellent means for marketing the country. And we know exactly how to use it to our advantage,” remarks the Slovak ambassador to Denmark, Radomír Boháč, who is quoted by SME.
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