President of the Slovak Republic Visited the Slovak KFOR Unit in Kosovo

President of the Slovak Republic Ivan Gašparovič visited the servicemen in the Slovak KFOR unit in Kosovo. He arrived together with 39 family members of the Slovak soldiers deployed in the Balkans.

In Priština the Slovak President met with KFOR Commander Giuseppe Valotto who informed him about the existing situation in Kosovo, and briefed him about the priorities of international KFOR units in the region. Among others, the KFOR Commander said „it is utopian to think that the Kosovo situation can be solved without solving the situation in the surrounding countries”. As he said, the solution will also depend on the outcome of the elections in Macedonia, and the further development in Montenegro. According to Valotto, the stagnating economic development, the high unemployment rate and the increase in crime in the Kosovo region is particularly alarming.

President Ivan Gašparovič highly appreciated the work of the international peace-keeping forces as well as the work of the Slovak KFOR unit. He was also interested in the opinion of keeping the contingent of international peace-keeping forces in Kosovo. He believes, as he put it, that Kosovo should remain a multi-ethnic society, and its future should be decided about while the wishes of both parties – Serbian and Kosovian - would be taken into account so that the solution would be acceptable to both parties. Moreover, he underlined the impermissibility of depriving the Serbian citizens of their houses as a result of forcing them to leave. The discussion with KFOR Commander Valotto and President Gašparovič included also the issue of the future of Montenegro and the surrounding countries having political and economic influence on the further development in Kosovo.

After that, President Gašparovič laid a wreath to the memorial plaque to pay homage to the victims of the AN-24 air crash, and then left for Šajkovac where he met with the Commander of the Slovak KFOR unit, Gabriel Kerekeš and laid a wreath at the memorial of the AN-24 air crash. The program of the working visit of the head of state to Kosovo included also the official presentation of the NATO medals to the servicemen of the military unit for their service in the Balkan operations in the period from January to July 2006. The official act in Šajkovac was followed by an informal meeting of President Ivan Gašparovič with the servicemen in the Slovak KFOR unit and their family members.