Valasek: Slovakia's Dispatching of Soldiers to Baltic Isn't Favour to Allies

Bratislava, May 27 (TASR) – Slovakia’s participation in NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence in the Baltic is important as a boosting element for NATO’s unity vis-a-vis the North Atlantic Treaty’s Article 5, former Slovakia’s permanent representative to NATO and current Carnegie Europe director Tomas Valasek has told TASR.

The Article 5 stipulates that an armed attack against one or more NATO members shall be considered an attack against all members.

“The clause on mutual help must be backed by real power, real plans and real [military] support. So it’s super-important that we’re going to contribute. This is about our security; it isn’t a mere favour made to the allies. Instead, this is about our security guarantees and the need to keep the alliance strong,” said Valasek, who is attending the GLOBSEC security conference in Bratislava between Friday and Sunday.

If any NATO country appeared in a conflict with Russia or any other state and NATO didn’t react, all security guarantees for Slovakia would crumble, stressed Valasek.
Meanwhile, Slovakia’s NATO membership is also beneficial in economic terms, as foreign investors aren’t afraid of political risks, stated Valasek.

The Slovak Government has approved the dispatching of 152 soldiers to the Baltic for one year as part of NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence.