Romanian Defence Minister Radu Miruta on Tuesday thanked Slovakia and his counterpart Robert Kaliňák (Smer-SD) for deploying radar devices and troops to Romania.
The Slovak government approved this move last week as part of the Eastern Sentry initiative, which aims to strengthen the protection of the airspace of NATO's eastern flank member states.
"Hard work in negotiations sometimes yields specific results. I'd like to thank my counterpart Robert Kaliňák, as well as the Slovak government, for approving the deployment of radar devices to Romania to track low-altitude targets, along with the operating personnel," Miruta wrote on Facebook.
"This is in response to a request that I made at both NATO and European Union level with the aim of strengthening surveillance capabilities on our eastern border," he added in the post.
Up to 101 members of the Slovak Armed Forces are expected to take part in the Eastern Sentry operation. In addition to Romania, they are expected to operate primarily in Poland.
The Slovak soldiers are to assist in monitoring the airspace of NATO-member states, in the generation and exchange of radar information, and regarding early warning. They are also expected to carry out tasks relating to NATO integrated air and missile defence (NATINAMDS).
Source: TASR
