Slovakia will later this month begin talks with Ukraine in an attempt to resolve the dispute over the safety of an X-ray scanner used on freight trains at the customs checkpoint in Matovce which Slovakia turned off at the urging of Ukraine, the government decided on August 26, the SITA newswire wrote.
Ukraine claimed that the X-ray scanner was threatening the health of railway employees and unilaterally discontinued rail transport through the Matovce border crossing on August 18, only resuming transport when Slovakia shut down the scanner several days later.
According to the government’s decision, Slovakia will hold talks by the end of August aimed at unifying methods of measuring the radiation emitted by X-ray equipment on the border and take action towards proving the scanner's safety.
Upon agreement, the disputed equipment will be assessed by an internationally-recognised institution with the conclusions binding for both sides. Until the issue is resolved, the Customs Directorate and Cargo Slovakia will keep the border crossing in operation and will carry out checks without the scanner.
Slovakia’s Economy Minister Ľubomír Jahnátek said that the government views the entire dispute as a fabrication and obstruction on the part of Ukraine. SITA
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
