State Secretary of Slovakia's Defense Ministry Jaroslav Baska visited Cyprus on Saturday. He assured that Slovakia will remain in the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNICYF). "Slovakia's peacekeepers will not leave Cyprus, Cyprus is one of three regions, where Slovakia would like to see its representation also in the future," he said to his Cypriot counterpart Petros Kareklas. Mr. Baska informed that Slovakia attaches a great importance to the UNICYF. Mr. Kareklas suggested that Slovakia and Cyprus as small countries should help in international structures and in the research and development of the defense equipment. Mr. Baska welcomed this proposal. He visited also Slovak soldiers in Cyprus.
Slovakia has been operating in the UNICYP peacekeeping mission since 2001. At present, the mission comprises 196 soldiers. Of them, 61 are serving in the headquarters, while 165 Slovaks fulfill various tasks in the Sector 4 along with Hungarian and Croatian peacekeepers. Their main task is to prevent violence between Cypriot Greeks and Turks on the divided island.
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