Defence Minister Naď: Slovakia must not lose its geopolitical compass
- Author:
- Photo:
- Date: 15.02.2022
- Share: Zdieľať na Facebook
Aside from the tense stand-off on Ukraine's border, among today's greatest security challenges is the risk of Slovakia losing its geopolitical compass, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď stated while reflecting on the past period at the Annual Review Conference on the Foreign and European Policy of the Slovak Republic at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs in Bratislava.
Speaking at the conference, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď said: “The discussion on the U.S.-SVK Defense Cooperation Agreement, our de facto place amongst the Western democracies of the free world, has been accompanied by lies, distortions of facts, and the sowing of fear, hatred and even revenge. There has been hybrid pressure to disable Slovak bodies from taking the necessary and important course of action.” Despite the disinformation campaign, he appreciated that the Agreement had been endorsed by Parliament and ratified by the president a week earlier.
Against this background, the head of the MOD reminded that without Slovakia being anchored in NATO and the EU and without our strategic partner – the United States, we cannot effectively face new challenges and threats in the security environment. “For Slovakia, there exists no other meaningful alternative to the guarantees of collective defence together with other Allies in NATO,” he emphasised.
The defence minister assessed the tensions on the Alliance's eastern flank, saying: “We are unequivocally convinced that the situation needs to be resolved via diplomatic dialogue. Since the Russian offensive against Ukraine cannot be ruled out, we must step up our readiness and ability to respond in case the negotiations fail. Therefore, we have been taking all the necessary steps, both at the national and international levels. Already tomorrow, I will be discussing the situation with other NATO defence ministers.”
Speaking at the conference, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď said: “The discussion on the U.S.-SVK Defense Cooperation Agreement, our de facto place amongst the Western democracies of the free world, has been accompanied by lies, distortions of facts, and the sowing of fear, hatred and even revenge. There has been hybrid pressure to disable Slovak bodies from taking the necessary and important course of action.” Despite the disinformation campaign, he appreciated that the Agreement had been endorsed by Parliament and ratified by the president a week earlier.
Against this background, the head of the MOD reminded that without Slovakia being anchored in NATO and the EU and without our strategic partner – the United States, we cannot effectively face new challenges and threats in the security environment. “For Slovakia, there exists no other meaningful alternative to the guarantees of collective defence together with other Allies in NATO,” he emphasised.
The defence minister assessed the tensions on the Alliance's eastern flank, saying: “We are unequivocally convinced that the situation needs to be resolved via diplomatic dialogue. Since the Russian offensive against Ukraine cannot be ruled out, we must step up our readiness and ability to respond in case the negotiations fail. Therefore, we have been taking all the necessary steps, both at the national and international levels. Already tomorrow, I will be discussing the situation with other NATO defence ministers.”
