V4 Defence Ministers Holding Talks in Prague on Ukraine and Middle East

Prague, December 7 (TASR-correspondent) - A two-day meeting of defence ministers from the Visegrad Four (V4) countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia), at which Slovakia is being represented by Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD), began in Prague on Thursday. The V4 ministers are due to be joined on Friday by representatives of Central European Defence Cooperation (CEDC) and the Western Balkans countries to discuss the security situation in Ukraine and the Middle East. Czech Defence Minister Jana Cernochova welcomed her counterparts from Slovakia, Poland and Hungary at the National Monument at Vitkov on Thursday afternoon. At an official ceremony, they laid a wreath together at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, then moved to the nearby Army Museum, where they are holding talks. On Friday, negotiations will take place in the CEDC format, which, in addition to the Czech Republic and Slovakia, also includes Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary and Austria. Poland has observer status. Later, the ministerial meeting will be expanded to include representatives of the Western Balkans countries, including Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Serbia and Kosovo. At the expanded meeting, the politicians will mainly discuss the consequences of the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East for central Europe and the Western Balkans. am/df