During the war in Ukraine, it is more evident than ever that joining NATO was among the most important events in Slovakia's modern history, stated Slovak Foreign Affairs Minister Ivan Korčok on the occasion of the of the 18th anniversary of Slovakia's accession to the Alliance. "We have 29 allies in NATO, with whom we are ready to defend jointly every inch of the Alliance, and therefore also Slovak territory. "It was our own, sovereign and free decision, by which we clearly expressed that we belong to the West and to the values of democracy, freedom and the rule of law, and by which we obtained the biggest possible security guarantees," said Korčok. He noted that the events in Ukraine have fundamentally changed the strategic security environment in the whole of Europe. Thanks to NATO, Slovakia has the best conditions to respond appropriately and ensure the security and defence of its people. We are strengthening our defence capabilities by creating a new NATO multinational battle group in Slovakia, which will include soldiers from the Czech Republic, Germany, the Netherlands, the USA, Poland and Slovenia, including high-tech military equipment and defence systems," the minister added.
"Against the background of the events in Ukraine, I am sure that if we were not a member of NATO, the aggressor would be looking directly our way," said Slovak Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď. We must value Slovakia's decision to join NATO today more than ever, Slovak Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď wrote on social media. According to him it is our duty to be a strong and stable link in the chain, so that no one will dare to break it. The minister opined that defence and security issues are difficult to communicate to the wider public, especially in times of peace, but it is necessary to prepare responsibly for the worst. "Today, when a war is raging just beyond our borders and thousands of innocent people are dying because of Russian aggression, it is, I believe, easier to talk about the need for the armed forces to be ready, about building collective defence, about spending at least 2% of GDP on defence and about building good and strong relations with our allies," he remarked.
Source: TASR
