NATO summit
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- Date: 04.09.2014
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“We can evaluate the NATO summit as decisive and successful also for Slovakia and its defence,” stated SVK Minister of Defence Martin Glváč at the end of the NATO summit, held on 4 – 5 September in Wales, UK.
SVK Minister of Defence Martin Glváč and SVK President and Commander-in-Chief Andrej Kiska informed of Slovakia’s efforts to establish a logistic base in Poprad in favour of NATO’s needs, in case the Alliance shows any interest in that. At the same time, we will reinforce our presence at the Alliance’s HQ in Szczecin. Slovakia also offered Training Centre Lešť and Sliač AFB to host various exercises. The Minister confirmed that the SVK delegation had pledged not to cut the SVK defence budget, but rather to increase the share of the MOD’s budget for modernization up to 20 per cent by 2016. The SVK MOD’s budget will have reached the EU/NATO member countries’ average by 2020.
“Today, it represents 1.6 per cent of GDP,” specified the SVK Minister of Defence, adding that “In relation to the budget’s increase, we prefer modernization and new projects.” SVK President Andrej Kiska appreciated the approval of the Alliance’s Readiness Action Plan, the main goal of which is to strengthen the Allies’ defences. “Under this plan, we agreed to reinforce our military presence in NATO’s east and establish new forces able to react to a crisis in any country in a very short time,” he explained. In relation to the current situation in eastern Ukraine, he remarked that all countries wished to achieve peace via dialogue. Miroslav Lajčák, the SVK Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, added that another major issue to be discussed even after the summit was Iraq and the threat of terrorism. “The way the Alliance wants to respond to these threats is included in the Readiness Action Plan.”
An extraordinarily important issue was the situation in Ukraine. Martin Glváč stated that his Alliance colleagues appreciated the steps the Slovak Republic had taken in relation to the crisis. He reminded that Slovakia had provided Ukraine with both military and non-military assistance so far, and together with its V4 partners would intensify reporting on the situation in Ukraine, continue to help Ukraine, and provide training for Ukrainian EOD specialists.
SVK Minister of Defence Martin Glváč and SVK President and Commander-in-Chief Andrej Kiska informed of Slovakia’s efforts to establish a logistic base in Poprad in favour of NATO’s needs, in case the Alliance shows any interest in that. At the same time, we will reinforce our presence at the Alliance’s HQ in Szczecin. Slovakia also offered Training Centre Lešť and Sliač AFB to host various exercises. The Minister confirmed that the SVK delegation had pledged not to cut the SVK defence budget, but rather to increase the share of the MOD’s budget for modernization up to 20 per cent by 2016. The SVK MOD’s budget will have reached the EU/NATO member countries’ average by 2020.
“Today, it represents 1.6 per cent of GDP,” specified the SVK Minister of Defence, adding that “In relation to the budget’s increase, we prefer modernization and new projects.” SVK President Andrej Kiska appreciated the approval of the Alliance’s Readiness Action Plan, the main goal of which is to strengthen the Allies’ defences. “Under this plan, we agreed to reinforce our military presence in NATO’s east and establish new forces able to react to a crisis in any country in a very short time,” he explained. In relation to the current situation in eastern Ukraine, he remarked that all countries wished to achieve peace via dialogue. Miroslav Lajčák, the SVK Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, added that another major issue to be discussed even after the summit was Iraq and the threat of terrorism. “The way the Alliance wants to respond to these threats is included in the Readiness Action Plan.”
An extraordinarily important issue was the situation in Ukraine. Martin Glváč stated that his Alliance colleagues appreciated the steps the Slovak Republic had taken in relation to the crisis. He reminded that Slovakia had provided Ukraine with both military and non-military assistance so far, and together with its V4 partners would intensify reporting on the situation in Ukraine, continue to help Ukraine, and provide training for Ukrainian EOD specialists.
