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Slovak-US military agreement geared to deploys US troops closer to Russia - ex-PM

The leader of the Direction-Social Democracy party, said that his party insists on a referendum on the military agreement with Washington

PRAGUE, January 16. /TASS/. The only goal of a military cooperation agreement between the United States and Slovakia, the draft of which was unanimously approved by the Slovak government on January 12, is to deploy US troops closer to the Russian border, Slovakia’s former Prime Minister (2006-2010, 2012-2018) Robert Fico said on Sunday.

"This agreement [on military cooperation with the United States] betrays Slovakia’s national interests," he told the Slovak television. "It only goal is to move the US military closer to the Russian borders."

Fico, the leader of the Direction-Social Democracy party, said that his party insists on a referendum on the military agreement with Washington.

Another Slovakia’s former Prime Minister (2018-2020) and former parliament speaker (2014-2016) Peter Pellegrini, who leads the Voice-Social Democracy party, called on the country’s President Zuzana Caputova to refer the draft agreement to the Constitutional Court for analysis. Slovakia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Richard Sulik who spoke on Sunday in favor of this measure.

Meanwhile, Slovakia’s Foreign Minister Ivan Korcok insists on the necessity of signing this agreement, saying that the country’s opposition is simply seeking to picture the United States as an aggressor.

Slovakia’s former Prime Minister (1991-1992) Jan Carnogursky told TASS earlier that the veterans of his country’s politics and former high-ranking officials had also issued a letter to the president asking her to submit the draft agreement on military cooperation with the United States to the Constitutional Court.

The agreement allows US forces to use Slovak Malacky (in the west of the country) and Sliac (in the central part of the country) airbases. Apart from that, the US military will be able to use other military facilities in that country in exchange for US financing to the Slovak army. The agreement is supposed to be signed for a term of ten years with a possible automatic prolongation.

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