Kalinak Criticises Agreements Concluded by Former Defence Ministry Leadership

Bratislava, April 17 (TASR) - Defence Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD) has lambasted contracts for the purchase of military equipment that were concluded by the previous leadership of the Defence Ministry. "There was no tender either for tracked or eight-wheeled vehicles. It was simply a sham pretending to be a tender, but in reality there was none. For instance, in the case of tracked vehicles, three types were considered and in the end, one that didn't even compete won the tender," claimed Kalinak, adding that the purchase agreement doesn't meet the criteria of the EU. Addressing air defence, Kalinak claimed that the former cabinet opted to launch government-to-government negotiations regarding a single system. According to Kalinak, this was "extremely insufficient". "Air defence is supposed to be an essential element of the protection of the whole Slovak Republic, so it must be appropriately massive," he noted. Kalinak said that his ministry is currently assessing Israeli, Norwegian and Korean air-defence systems. The minister opined that if the government opts for the Israeli system, the situation in the Middle East region could influence the delivery of the system as a recent attack on Israel by Iran interrupted negotiations on the conditions of the contract. A final decision on the system should be made within the next few weeks, added the minister. Meanwhile, ex-defence minister Jaroslav Nad has reacted to Kalinak's statements by saying that "what is really fake is his performance as defence minister, as he cares about nothing but [Premier] Robert Fico's wishes to ensure his own impunity". "No wonder soldiers and employees of the ministry call him a weepy deputy prime minister instead of a defence minister," added Nad, opining that Kalinak and his nominees can't stomach it when acquisition tenders are carried out transparently and in accordance with EU rules. zel/mcs