Government: 150 Soldiers and Over 80 Pieces of Equipment Could Be Send to Kosovo

Bratislava, January 15 (TASR) - As a part of the NATO-led KFOR mission, 150 soldiers from the Slovak Armed Forces and more than 80 pieces of equipment could be deployed to Kosovo, according to a Defence Ministry's proposal approved by the government on Wednesday. "The duration of the mandate for the deployment of the members of the Slovak Armed Forces to the KFOR operation is proposed from the approval of the deployment until the completion of the KFOR mission. The members of the Slovak Armed Forces will carry out tasks in the KFOR operational area, namely the territory of Kosovo," the Defence Ministry stated in the document. The document shows that within the KFOR command structures Slovakia could deploy up to 15 members, and within the national command and support element 20 members. The government could also send up to 110 personnel to Kosovo for base security, patrolling and logistics, along with a maximum of five military police officers. At the same time, the government plans to send a maximum of 60 wheeled vehicles, 20 pieces of tracked equipment, two passenger cars and 300 handguns and rifles. The proposal still needs to be approved by the House. Slovak Defense Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD) informed about the return of Slovak soldiers to Kosovo during his visit to Serbia. Slovak soldiers served in the KFOR mission from 1999 until 2010, with a total of 2,004 members of the Slovak Armed Forces in the mission. lin/mcs