Blanar: Need to Open Corridor to Provide Humanitarian Aid to Gaza

Brussels, 21 May (TASR) - Slovakia views it absolutely necessary to open a corridor in order to provide humanitarian aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip, said Foreign Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) following the EU's Foreign Affairs Council session in Brussels on Tuesday (20 May). According to Blanar, the proposal to revise the EU's association agreement with Israel due to its offensive in Gaza is viewed by Slovakia as a message aimed at making the current situation clear. "The humanitarian crisis in Gaza Strip is enormous. People have no access to water, basic food or health care. We've therefore supported the appeal that it is absolutely necessary to have a corridor open for the provision of humanitarian aid to civilians," said Blanar. Blanar reminded his ministerial counterparts about how Slovakia has contributed towards alleviating this humanitarian crisis - for example, by organising five evacuation flights for child cancer patients from Gaza along with their family members. According to Blanar, Slovakia is gaining a strong reputation in this area. "Our foreign partners turn to us with the confidence that we can carry out these evacuation flights in a safe manner, with excellent organisation," stated the Slovak minister. A proposal to revise the implementation of Article 2 of the Association Agreement between Israel and the European Union on respect for human rights was submitted at the meeting by the Netherlands, which reacted in this way to an intensification of the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip. Blanar called the agreement a powerful tool for maintaining a lively dialogue, which is essential to preserve. Blanar is scheduled to continue working negotiations in Brussels on Wednesday at the third ministerial meeting of the European Union and the African Union (AU). Slovakia wants to be very active in this area, with the Slovak Foreign Affairs Ministry opening a liaison office in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, the headquarters of the AU, to which over 50 African states belong. ko/df