Blanar: Slovakia to Provide No More Military Aid to Ukraine at Gov't Level

Brussels/Bratislava, November 13 (TASR-correspondent) - The new Slovak Government won't provide military aid at the state level to Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression anymore, but it will respect arms contracts for Ukraine by private firms in Slovakia, chief of Slovak diplomacy Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) stated in Brussels after a session of the EU's Foreign Affairs Council on Monday. TASR learnt the news from its special correspondent in Brussels. Blanar reiterated to his EU counterparts the stance of the new Slovak government, according to which Slovakia wishes for a ceasefire in the conflict and hopes to see a peaceful Ukraine with its territorial integrity intact. In addition, the new cabinet also supports Ukraine's aspirations to become a member of the EU. "First and foremost, we want initiatives aimed at seeking a ceasefire and peaceful solution to this conflict to start straight away. At its current stage, the war seems to have turned into a frozen conflict and a dead-end. It's about time for similar initiatives to emerge, the initiatives that Slovakia will support," he said. Blanar underlined that Slovakia wants to help Ukrainians also in the upcoming winter with humanitarian aid and mine clearing. "The Slovak Republic will continue to finance the production of two mine clearing Bozena IV vehicles on behalf of Ukraine and these should be deployed already in early 2024 in the Kherson Oblast," added Blanar. mf/mcs