Slovak experts to join Czech anti-chemical unit in Kuwait

At the same time demonstrations were taking place on Saturday, the Czech and Slovak defence ministers signed an agreement on a joint Czech-Slovak anti-chemical unit which will start operating in Kuwait on March 1.

Far from the chanting crowds, in the red-carpeted building of the Defence Ministry, Jaroslav Tvrdik, the Czech Defence Minister, and his Slovak counterpart Ivan Simko met on Saturday to agree on the deployment of a joint Czech-Slovak anti-chemical unit in Kuwait.

"We have signed an agreement on the formation of a Czech-Slovak contingent for protection against weapons of mass destruction. At the moment the contingent is deployed in Kuwait as part of the Enduring Freedom operation. Our Slovak colleagues will be deployed by March 1 and the unit will then have around 470 soldiers. Its task will be to protect not only the allies' troops but also civilians in around 26 countries, according to the mandate given by the Czech and Slovak governments."

The Czech minister added that seventy-five Slovak soldiers are expected to join their Czech colleagues by the end of next week. Both Czech and Slovak experts will use the same equipment and facilities in Kuwait and the two countries will divide the costs according to the number of soldiers in the unit. The Slovak Defence Minister Ivan Simko.

"The agreement we have signed is the result of several months of consultations on a political and also military and technological levels. It was enabled also by the two countries' parliaments which gave the Czech and Slovak soldiers an almost identical mandate. We think that cooperation in saving human lives if weapons of mass destruction are used reflects both countries' military traditions and I think this agreement is a good move."

The joint unit, which Minister Tvrdik described as the best of its kind in NATO, could be deployed in other countries in the region if they ask for assistance, but Mr Tvrdik was not able to specify whether that concerns only immediate neighbours of Iraq or other countries as well. The joint Czech-Slovak anti-chemical unit would join a possible military action against Iraq only with a mandate from the United Nations Security Council or if weapons of mass destruction are used in the region.