Slovakia's military has maintained operability even during its strong involvement in the tackling of the present coronavirus pandemic, but it must shift its activities from assistance tasks to training, including in international exercises, President Zuzana Čaputová stated after meeting with Defence Minister Jaroslav Nad (OLANO) and Chief-of-General-Staff Daniel Zmeko on Tuesday.
Discussing the situation in the Czech Republic, which recently expelled 18 Russian diplomats over the alleged involvement of their country in an explosion at a Czech ammunition warehouse in 2014, Čaputová asked whether similar Slovak facilities are properly protected. Both Nad and Zmeko reportedly told her that the military has been paying increased attention to this task.
Another point of discussion was the Russian military build-up near the Russian-Ukrainian border. "We all concurred that such a military build-up on Ukraine's eastern border is non-standard and contributes towards instability in Ukraine and the entire region. It's immensely important for us that Ukraine's security environment be peaceful, stable and predictable," wrote Čaputová on Facebook.
