Speaker of the Slovak Parliament opposes deployment of US troops in the country
The Speaker of Parliament, Andrej Danko, commenting on the Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak’s visit to the United States, said that the purpose of the talks in Washington is to conclude a new military cooperation agreement, reports ParlamentneListy news website. “We will insist that the new agreement does not contain a word about the possibility of temporary or permanent deployment of the Unites States troops on the Slovak territory,” said the Speaker of Parliament.
Danko stressed that agreement with Washington should not undermine Slovakia’s sovereignty and force it to participate in projects that are not beneficial for the country.
Earlier, Danko opposed the treaty with the United States, which would ensure Washington’s financial assistance for the reconstruction of military airfields in Slovakia in exchange to the United States troops’ presence. “We are not against financial assistance, but we have enough money to resolve the issue with the infrastructure. No foreign troops should be deployed on the territory of the country unless it is a question of conducting joint exercises, “he added. At the same time, the Speaker of the Parliament said that if the government would proceed with another decision, led by him Slovak People’s Party would leave the ruling coalition.
In the middle of February, Danko flew to Russia on an official visit, which was perceived by the Slovak opposition as part of as an attempt to change the Euro-Atlantic course. In regards to this, the speaker of the parliament said that Slovakia should not refuse to cooperate with Moscow. According to him, political disagreements do not prevent German and French companies from doing business in Russia, and therefore Slovak businessmen should also not abandon the Eastern market.