Slovak soldiers remain in Iraq for now, further course of action will be taken on Monday
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- Date: 05.01.2020
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Further action on the Slovak deployment in Iraq will be taken after the meetings of the NATO Military Committee and the North Atlantic Council on Monday (6 January). All the steps to be taken will be coordinated with Allies. The security of SVK personnel is paramount. This statement was made by Defence Minister Peter Gajdoš after his meeting with Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini and members of the SVK Security Council, which was initiated by the Minister this morning (5 January 2020).
“This morning I spoke with the commander of our soldiers in Iraq, the situation is stable right now, though it is constantly changing. Technically, today it is no longer possible to send an aircraft for our soldiers in Iraq, because the situation does not permit it,” said Defence Minister Peter Gajdoš, adding that no further details can be released due to security reasons. “We will decide on any further course of action after tomorrow’s meetings of the NATO Military Committee and the North Atlantic Council and we are exerting maximum efforts to make sure our soldiers are safe and return home happily. I also want to reassure their family members about it,” he said. He went on to thank Parliamentary Chairman Andrej Danko for his political support for the steps towards ensuring the security of SVK personnel in Iraq.
Speaking about the SVK soldiers in Iraq, Chief of Defence Gen Daniel Zmeko said: “Our soldiers have been fully involved in implementing the measures adopted and ordered by the Mission Command. We are now waiting for the decision of NATO political and military leaders. The morale of our soldiers is high, because our soldiers have, in the long term, been trained to face such critical and dangerous situations. They deserve our great recognition for this.” The security developments in Iraq are monitored in close cooperation with the Slovak Military Intelligence.
A total of 7 SVK Armed Forces personnel are currently deployed in Iraq as part of the non-combat NATO Mission Iraq (NMI). They have been tasked with providing advice and training to Iraqi security forces. “Our soldiers did not go to Iraq to fight, but to help with training at the request of the Iraqi government. We should keep this in mind,” emphasised Minister Gajdoš. NATO has temporarily suspended its training activities for Iraqi security forces after the death of Gen Qasem Soleimani.
“This morning I spoke with the commander of our soldiers in Iraq, the situation is stable right now, though it is constantly changing. Technically, today it is no longer possible to send an aircraft for our soldiers in Iraq, because the situation does not permit it,” said Defence Minister Peter Gajdoš, adding that no further details can be released due to security reasons. “We will decide on any further course of action after tomorrow’s meetings of the NATO Military Committee and the North Atlantic Council and we are exerting maximum efforts to make sure our soldiers are safe and return home happily. I also want to reassure their family members about it,” he said. He went on to thank Parliamentary Chairman Andrej Danko for his political support for the steps towards ensuring the security of SVK personnel in Iraq.
Speaking about the SVK soldiers in Iraq, Chief of Defence Gen Daniel Zmeko said: “Our soldiers have been fully involved in implementing the measures adopted and ordered by the Mission Command. We are now waiting for the decision of NATO political and military leaders. The morale of our soldiers is high, because our soldiers have, in the long term, been trained to face such critical and dangerous situations. They deserve our great recognition for this.” The security developments in Iraq are monitored in close cooperation with the Slovak Military Intelligence.
A total of 7 SVK Armed Forces personnel are currently deployed in Iraq as part of the non-combat NATO Mission Iraq (NMI). They have been tasked with providing advice and training to Iraqi security forces. “Our soldiers did not go to Iraq to fight, but to help with training at the request of the Iraqi government. We should keep this in mind,” emphasised Minister Gajdoš. NATO has temporarily suspended its training activities for Iraqi security forces after the death of Gen Qasem Soleimani.
