Slovakia hails referendum's result in Scotland

Slovakia has welcomed the result of the independence referendum in Scotland, with the Slovak Foreign and European Affairs Ministry announcing Friday it had an interest in a strong UK as a stable component of the EU.

Around 55 percent voted for Scotland to remain in the UK, whereas 44.7 percent voted in favour of an independent Scotland. The turnout was 84.59 percent of the eligible population, Xinhua reported.

"We congratulate Scotland on the high voter turnout, which confirms that Scots approached this critical decision with the utmost seriousness and responsibility towards their future," a statement from the Slovak foreign ministry said.

Foreign affairs parliamentary committee chair Frantisek Sebej said: "In my opinion, the splintering of Britain would have caused shock waves felt everywhere. It's also in our interests not to have Europe fragment further into smaller states, because it would cease to function."

European affairs parliamentary committee chair Lubos Blaha added: "Let's be glad that they remained part of Britain. I consider Scotland to be much more socially oriented and optimistic about Europe than England."