Even though Slovakia is not participating in the ongoing intervention of the French army in Mali, it considers the military action to be legitimate and is offering its political support, Defence Ministry state secretary Miloš Koterec said after his meeting with French Defence Attaché Christine Poussineau on Monday, March 11.
Koterec claimed that the Slovak Armed Forces stands ready to get involved in the training mission EUTM in Mali, if need be, and contribute mostly with military instructors for the training of ground forces in Mali and doctors.
"We support the launch of the EUTM training mission, focused on the restructuring, training and building of the armed forces of Mali, and in this respect welcome the decision to launch the mission as of February 18, 2013," said Koterec, as quoted by the TASR newswire. He also conveyed his hope that the military mission in Mali will transform into a UN peacekeeping mission soon, as finding a tenable political peace solution for the country is in the interest of the entire international community.
(Source: TASR)
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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