Estok: Slovakia Only Supplies Non-lethal Military Equipment to Ukraine

Brussels, August 30 (TASR-correspondent) - The use of weapons supplied to Ukraine by the West was not on the agenda of an informal meeting of diplomats from EU-member states in Brussels on Thursday (August 29), said Foreign Affairs Ministry State Secretary Marek Estok following the talks, adding that Slovakia only supplies non-lethal military equipment to Ukraine. Estok voiced his disappointment that the meeting didn't take place in Budapest, as it was planned under the Hungarian presidency of the Council of the EU. "[EU chief of diplomacy Josep] Borrell decided that the meeting would be held in Brussels. We view this as a precedent for future presidencies as well," said Estok in July. Estok praised a "long and very inspiring" internal discussion with Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba. According to Estok, Kuleba called on EU countries to focus on two aspects before the coming winter: the supply of anti-missile defence systems and ensuring Ukraine's energy self-sufficiency during the winter. "I reiterated that we are preparing a third joint session of the Ukrainian and Slovak governments, this time in Ukraine, somewhere near the border. The negotiations will include an evaluation of the session in Michalovce (Kosice region), which also focused on the interconnection of the Slovak and Ukrainian energy networks and on electricity supplies from Slovakia to Ukraine. I repeated that the Slovak side is modernising and expanding the capacity of its transmission systems so that we can supply more to Ukraine even during the winter season," said Estok. The ministerial council also discussed the situation in the Middle East. In this connection Estok said that Slovakia is concerned about the worsening humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territories, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. "As its own contribution, Slovakia organised a special humanitarian medical flight for patients from Gaza, in cooperation with Belgium and the European Commission, and we are ready to use our military aircraft again," added Estok. ko/df