State Secretary Marian Majer holds talks with Ukrainian Defence, Military and Air Attaché B. Kharchuk

State Secretary of the SVK Ministry of Defence Marian Majer held talks with Ukrainian Defence, Military and Air Attaché Col Bogdan Kharchuk at MOD Main Building today (6 May 2020). The meeting the primary discussion topic of which was the evolving situation in Ukraine took place at the initiative of the Ukrainian side. During the talks, they also devoted their attention to current security and defence issues and ways to take forward the bilateral engagement between both countries. However, this is now greatly constrained by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It is also for this reason they agreed on the need to restart it as soon as the situation allows.

State Secretary of the SVK Ministry of Defence Marian Majer said: "The position of the Slovak Republic on the subject of respecting the principles of international law, including territorial integrity, is unchangeable. Any violation of the principles by the use of military force is unacceptable. That is why it is important that any bilateral or multilateral disputes should be resolved within the valid agreements without any further escalation of tensions in the region." He underpinned the necessity to pursue a policy focused on resolving security and humanitarian issues in the Donbass, including the protection of civilian populations.

At today's meeting, the State Secretary assured the UKR Attaché that Slovakia continues to support Ukraine's efforts to achieve NATO's Enhanced Opportunity Partner (EOP) status (EOP is a format for partner countries to get intensely involved in dialogue and collaboration with the Alliance across a broad spectrum of activities).

Marian Majer updated Col Kharchuk on how Slovakia is following through on its commitments vis-à-vis the EU and NATO. He reiterated that Slovakia is appreciative of Ukraine's efforts to join the Euro-Atlantic structures. "We support deepening our cooperation with Ukraine, which is evidenced by the Slovakia's Lead Nation role in the NATO Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) and Counter-Improvised Explosive Devices (C-IED) Trust Fund for Ukraine," he said.