Lawmakers in Slovakia narrowly permitted a protection treaty with the United States on Wednesday, making it the final NATO member on the alliance’s japanese frontier to enact such a pact, regardless of rowdy opposition in parliament fueled by the Ukraine disaster.
The treaty permits US forces to make use of two airports in Slovakia, which shares a brief mountainous border with Ukraine.
Western nations accuse Russia of planning an invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow denies.
Other NATO nations in Eastern Europe have strongly backed a US choice to beef up forces within the area through the standoff with Moscow. But the problem is extra contentious in Slovakia, the place a ballot final month confirmed extra folks guilty NATO than Russia for the Ukraine disaster.
The Slovak authorities stated the protection cooperation treaty was in step with treaties signed by 23 different NATO friends, together with all these on the alliance’s japanese border. It nonetheless wants the president’s signature.
“The agreement is giving us an opportunity to modernize, together with the United States, our defense infrastructure,” Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad stated earlier than the vote. “Our allies are guaranteeing our sovereignty. That’s precisely what alliances are about.”
Seventy-nine lawmakers supported the settlement, simply clearing the 76 votes required within the 150-seat parliament.
At one level, pro-government lawmakers held up a Ukrainian flag under a Slovak flag. An opposition lawmaker tore it down and ripped the face masks off the person holding it.
It permits the US navy to make use of amenities at two Slovak airports at Sliac and Malacky for the following 10 years, together with storage of apparatus. Troop deployments would nonetheless be topic to parliamentary approval.
Slovakia additionally qualifies for $100 million in US funds.
The parliamentary vote adopted a stormy debate, typically disrupted by opposition lawmakers whistling or blocking the speaker’s area with a Slovak flag.
Opposition chief Robert Fico, whose get together was in authorities when the treaty was first negotiated, known as the settlement “treacherous, dirty, bad”, and stated that these supporting it need Slovakia to be a United States “province”.
An opinion ballot confirmed in January that 44.1% of Slovaks believed NATO and the United States had been answerable for the stress between Russia and Ukraine, whereas 34.7% blamed Russia.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
