The Slovak Foreign Affairs Ministry released a statement on Monday expressing its concern with the recently publicised information regarding the forming of a Czech-Slovak unit inside an international brigade of self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic separatists in eastern Ukraine. The news website aktuality.sk reported the existence of this unit earlier on Monday, comprising eight Czech and 4 Slovak mercenaries."Although we can't confirm the information about the involvement of Slovak citizens in the conflict in Ukraine as volunteers of separatist armed forces or other armed units, in any instance we don't approve of this behaviour", said the head of the Foreign Ministry press department Peter Susko, quoted by the press agency TASR. He added that these 'adventurers' are acting on their own hook and contribute to further destabilising the situation, undermining diplomatic efforts to resolve the dispute and are thereby harming Slovak foreign policy interests.
According to the Foreign Affairs Ministry's spokesperson, the priority of Slovakia's foreign policy is a peaceful solution to the crisis in Ukraine through diplomatic negotiations. He added Slovakia supports the independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine and unequivocally condemns any attempts to escalate the conflict. "Slovakia is concerned about ceasefire violations, the use of heavy weapons that should have been withdrawn from the line of contact as part of the Minsk agreements, as well as the fact that people are dying and the humanitarian situation and people's suffering are worsening", stressed Susko.
