Blanar: WWI Legacy Serves as Reminder that Lasting Peace Achieved via Diplomacy

Bratislava, 28 July (TASR) - The legacy of the First World War remains, even today, a powerful warning against the consequences of diplomatic failure, and serves as a reminder that peace and security in the world require constant safeguarding, dialogue and respect for international law, Foreign Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) stated on the occasion of the 112th anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War, TASR was told by the ministry's communications department on Tuesday. "More than a century ago, this war demonstrated the devastating consequences that can result from a failure to address disputes at a negotiating table. The Slovak Republic commemorates this experience all the more keenly because our territory was among the areas of the Carpathian Front that were most severely tested," said Slovakia's chief diplomat, noting that the events of the war more than a century ago had an exceptionally severe impact on what was then Slovakia, as part of Austria-Hungary. The fighting on the Carpathian Front was among the bloodiest operations of the war, and some 400,000 men were mobilised from Slovak territory. Tens of thousands of them never returned from the battlefields across the world, or were left with lifelong consequences. "This is one of the reasons why we've long advocated seeking diplomatic solutions to conflicts and support initiatives aimed at achieving a just and sustainable peace in all conflicts around the world, as the international community is currently facing the highest number of such conflicts since the end of the Second World War. Diplomacy must therefore always remain the first choice, not a last resort," emphasised Blanar. The First World War broke out on 28 July 1914 when Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. The war lasted for more than four years, claiming the lives of some 10 million soldiers. Millions more suffered permanent physical or psychological damage. The war also hit the territory of modern-day Slovakia, on which the front line in the Carpathians stretched from the town of Bardejov to the town of Snina in eastern Slovakia. am