Even though the new US defence strategy is shifting to more focus on the Pacific region, the importance of cooperation with Europe continues to be high, US Ambassador to Slovakia Theodore Sedgwick said during a meeting with Prime Minister Iveta Radičová on January 16, the TASR newswire wrote.
"The size of a country isn't important. What matters is its standing within NATO, its fulfilment of commitments and its reliability. Slovakia is indeed a reliable partner and, just like the US, has rolled out a new strategic evaluation of defence and new decisions; Slovakia too is working on a parallel strategic evaluation," Radičová stated, as quoted by TASR.
Radičová's discussion with Sedgwick revolved primarily around the situation in Libya, Egypt and other countries that lie in the zone of interest of both Slovakia and USA.
In response to tension between the US and Iran, Radičová emphasised that "all recourses need to be employed to avoid conflict – an open conflict, in particular." TASR wrote that the US ambassador praised Slovakia's involvement in the ISAF mission in Afghanistan and called Slovakia a serious and reliable partner in NATO.
Source: TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
