IF A local war were to break out in Ukraine, Slovakia could face an influx of hundreds of thousands of refugees, which is much more than the country is able to take in, according to Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák.
“If Russia decides to take a military intervention, we will face a huge crisis, because a war will start, practically,” analyst Alexander Duleba said on the TA3 news TV channel on April 13, as quoted by the SITA newswire. Duleba spoke in reaction to the April 13 operation of Ukrainian police against rebels in the town of Slovyansk, where pro-Russian separatists took over government buildings.
Duleba called the pro-Russian action yet another violation of international peace and order, SITA reported, adding that a war in Ukraine is likely to have consequences for the neighbouring countries, including Slovakia.
Massive immigration from Ukraine would be the main problem for Slovakia, according to Duleba. He likened the situation to Belarus, from where about two million people fled for either economic or political reasons, with half of them settling in Poland and Lithuania.
“If this migration potential of Ukraine should be taken into account, in case of a crisis, this could be six to nine million Ukrainians, with half of them settling down in the neighbouring countries, we would have refugee camps here,” Duleba said, as quoted by SITA.
Source: SITA
Compiled by Michaela Terenzani from press reports.
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information
presented in its Flash News postings.
