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Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland to Form Joint Peacekeeping Force
The defense ministers of Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland signed an accord on Thursday creating a joint peace-keeping force, Slovakia's ZAS news agency reported.
The document was signed by Jozef Stank of Slovakia and his Czech and Polish counterparts, Jaroslav Rvrdik and Bronislaw Komorowski, at a meeting in the northern Czech town of Oravsky Podzamok.
The brigade, which will consist of 2,500 soldiers from the three countries and conform to NATO standards, will be established around 2005, with its command and staff being operational before the NATO summit next year.
Its headquarters will be in the city of Topolcany, western Slovakia, and be headed by Slovakian generals. The armed unit will take part in NATO and European Union peacekeeping exercises.
The establishment of the force will help step up Slovakia's military reform and thus facilitate its bid to join NATO at an early date, Jaroslav Tvrdik said.
It will also provide a broader space for military cooperation among the three countries, which have promised to augment cooperation in fighting international terrorism, the Czech defense minister said.
The initiative of forming a joint force was first taken by Poland and the Czech Republic, and later the Slovakian government actively responded.
Poland and the Czech Republic joined NATO in March 1999.
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