New York, October 25 (TASR) – The terms of the Slovak contribution to the United Nations (UN) UNFICYP mission in Cyprus will be regulated by new memoranda. They were signed on Monday in New York by the Slovak Minister of Defense Jaroslav Naď (OĽANO) and the UN Deputy Secretary General for Operational Support Atul Khare.

“It is a matter of specifying the activities of our soldiers in Cyprus. This was important because the reality that was in place did not reflect the legal bases that should have been changed a long time ago. “ the minister explained. One document applies to women’s units and the other to the infantry company.

The topic of Naďa’s and Khar’s meeting was also the situation in Cyprus, where Slovak soldiers work. As Naď informed, the members of the Slovak contingent are already completely vaccinated. The Minister of Defense added that not only soldiers but also diplomats have a good reputation in Slovakia at the UN.

Photo: TASR – Ministry of Defense of the Slovak Republic / Ivan Kelement

The head of the ministry also spoke with the UN representative about the situation in various countries around the world, such as Sudan and Mali. The deputy also asked Slovakia for 25,000 AstraZeneca vaccines for soldiers.

The Minister of Defense, together with the delegation, also laid a wreath at the memorial to those who died in UN peacekeeping missions. They recalled 4,147 people, six of them Slovaks who have died in missions so far.

There are 90,000 peacekeepers currently in 12 UN operations. The Slovak Republic has the 51st largest representation, 251 Slovaks are sent in the UNFICYP mission. In addition to the number of soldiers, it includes seven police officers.

After Monday, he held talks with the permanent representative of the Slovak Republic at the UN, Michal Mlynář. He also met Slovaks working at the UN.

(TASR Special Rapporteur Katarína Bačová)