In a vote on Tuesday, October 26, parliament approved the withdrawal of Slovak troops from the KFOR mission in Kosovo by the end of 2010. Following the withdrawal, Slovakia will continue to carry out international crisis management tasks in the western Balkans.
Prime Minister Iveta Radičová, during a visit to Kosovo in September, denied that Slovakia's continuing refusal to recognise the independence of Kosovo lay behind the planned withdrawal. "Slovakia's original contract was valid until the autumn of this year. So we've met our commitments," she said, as quoted by the TASR newswire.
Slovak troops have been serving as part of the KFOR mission since September 1999. The number of servicemen and -women was initially 40, but was later increased to 140.
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.
