Zmeko: Slovak Troops' Middle East Missions Unaffected by Security Situation

Bratislava, 10 March (TASR) - The current security situation in the Middle East has no impact on the meeting of operational tasks by Slovak soldiers deployed in international missions in the region, even though all contingency plans have been activated in case the situation deteriorates, including evacuation plans, chief of the General Staff of the Slovak Armed Forces Daniel Zmeko said at a press conference at the Defence Ministry on Tuesday in response to a journalist's question. The conference was attended also by Defence Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD). According to Zmeko, a drone attack heading towards Cyprus that was intercepted "was not aiming at any United Nations facilities or organisations, it attempted to target military facilities from the United Kingdom". The defence minister added that it is not entirely clear who is currently in command in Iran. Kalinak pointed out that the country's political leadership has declared that it wants to change its approach to attacking other states. "On the other hand, it is not entirely clear whether the political leadership is in command today, or whether the Iranian Revolutionary Guards have taken their own initiative and are acting completely independently," he said. Kalinak added that Iran's capacity to carry out attacks is decreasing. mf