In order to support peace and stability in our region and in the world, the continuation of support for Ukraine is priority number one. This was stated by the caretaker Minister of Defense of the Slovak Republic, Martin Sklenár, after Tuesday's meeting of the heads of defense departments of the EU countries in Brussels. TASR was informed about this by the spokeswoman of the Ministry of Defense (MoD) of the Slovak Republic, Martina Kakaščíková.
During the meeting in Brussels, the ministers mainly discussed military aid to Ukraine, progress in the initiative to supply ammunition to the Ukrainian army, as well as the consequences of the war for the EU's future defense capabilities.
At the meeting, the head of the Slovak Ministry of Defense emphasized the need for the fastest possible approval of a set of measures to increase the production capacity of the defense industry in order to fulfill the ambition to send a million artillery rounds to Ukraine. "As the EU, we want to remain a credible partner, therefore it is necessary to translate the common ambitions of our support into concrete steps. We therefore met on Tuesday with the aim of discussing several issues, including ensuring the sustainability of the aid provided to our eastern neighbors," said Sklenár. At the same time, he confirmed the Slovak Republic's determination to continue to support Ukraine.
Sklenár also held a bilateral meeting in Brussels with his German colleague Boris Pistorius, whom he informed about the priorities of the new leadership of the Slovak Ministry of Defense in defense policy. He also confirmed the preservation of the continuity of Slovakia's transatlantic direction, the continuation of the modernization of the Slovak Armed Forces and the preservation of defense spending at the level of at least two percent of GDP. According to Sklenár, Germany is our close and trustworthy partner, which, among other things, protects Slovakia's airspace with the Patriot system. He reminded that Berlin gave us Leopard 2A4 tanks for infantry fighting vehicles (IPVs) donated to Ukraine.
The Slovak minister also attended a meeting attended by the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, where he and other ministers evaluated cooperation between the EU and NATO.
Source: TASR
