The Slovak government will consider buying a stake in the United States Steel Corp''s factory in Kosice, eastern Slovakia, if U.S. Steel decides to sell it, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Monday.

"If this happens ... I can imagine as one option the state debating its possible participation in the new ownership structure," Fico said at a business debate.

Thousands of people depend on the Kosice steelworks for their living, he said.

"As long as I''m prime minister, we''ll do everything to maintain steel production in Kosice," said Fico.

Local media reported in early December that U.S. Steel has also received purchase bids from a Chinese company and the Czech steel mills in Trinecke Zelezarny, which belong to the Czech-Slovak group Moravia Steel.

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