Negotiation on joint defence with USA continues

The Slovak Foreign and European Ministry is continuing its negotiations with the USA on defence cooperation according to Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajčák. The Defence Cooperation Agreement is a condition for the US to provide Slovakia with a financial contribution of $46 million for the modernization of the aerospace bases Sliač and Kuchyňa. The project is part of NATO's European Deterrence Initiative (EDI) for the eastern countries of the alliance. It was introduced by Barack Obama in 2016 and Donald Trump continues to support it. The US have given similar offers to Iceland, Norway, Hungary, Latvia, Estonia, Romania, Malta, Luxemburg and Bulgaria. In the past, Sliač airport was already renovated from NATO's contributions. "We take the negotiations seriously. It is an agreement on a sensitive topic and Slovakia has its own interests in this matter. We need to defend them," said Lajčák.