NATO Would Lose Meaning without USA, Concur Kalinak and Cernochova

Bratislava, March 6 (TASR) - NATO would probably lose its meaning without the USA, Slovak Defence Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD) concurred with his Czech counterpart Jana Cernochova during their meeting in Bratislava on Thursday. The two ministers also spoke about a proposal to increase defence spending in NATO countries, as well as the issue of support for Ukraine. During her visit to Slovakia, Cernochova signed an agreement on cooperation between the Czech and Slovak Defence Ministries with Kalinak. According to Kalinak, unity is required when it comes to the issue of the defence of Europe. "You've heard opinions from overseas as to whether or not the USA should withdraw from NATO. Then it would probably lose its meaning, as it was supposed to be a transatlantic connection," Kalinak told a joint news conference following the meeting. "I think that this isn't on the agenda of the day," he said, adding that the USA is demanding adequate and fair participation in defence spending from European countries. He said that it won't be easy, but the aim is to protect and defend the public. Cernochova added that the USA has given assurances that it has no plans to withdraw from NATO. At the same time, the Czech minister said that her country has announced an increase in defence spending to 2.2 percent of GDP so that it will reach 3 percent of GDP by 2030. "What's happening across the ocean is clear to everyone," she said in reaction to US President Donald Trump's rhetoric. Therefore, there's a need to invest more in our own defence capabilities, she added. "The call for an increase in defence spending itself is, I would say, more of a political statement," said Kalinak, seeing many problems in it. According to him, it can't be only about an increase in expenditures on modern weaponry systems, but also about infrastructure, logistics and, most of all, staff. Kalinak referred to what Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) said regarding the discussion on the possibility of further defence budget increase with a main focus on dual use. He reiterated that the military hospital in Presov will be of use not only for eastern Slovakia, but in the event of a crisis or military conflict, it could also serve Poland and Hungary. Concerning the so-called 'coalition of the willing' [to support Ukraine], Cernochova said that some form of closer cooperation is viable, but joint projects within the EU should not be scrapped. According to her, the Czech Republic is willing to continue to participate in military aid to Ukraine. Kalinak said that no one has a 100-percent answer as to where the truth is. "We all know that one country grossly violated international law and launched military aggression, that's absolutely clear," he said, adding that opinions vary on the way of achieving a peace agreement. According to him, it isn't clear if there will be a better chance of concluding peace, for example, after three months of further aid to Ukraine than there is today. ko/df