The country's Defense Minister Yaroslav Nagy supported the idea of transferring aircraft to UkrainePRAGUE, February 11.
/tass/. The Slovak authorities intend to begin the process of preparing for the transfer of MiG-29 aircraft to Ukraine, which were previously owned by the country's Defense Ministry. This was announced on Friday by Acting Prime Minister Eduard Heger.
"An official proposal has been received, so we can start the negotiation process. On the one hand, this should be a discussion within the country, but we should also have a dialogue with the European Commission. <...> At the same time, we will enter into intensive negotiations with the Ukrainian side," Heger said, quoted by Pravda newspaper.
Defense Minister Yaroslav Nagy also supported the idea of transferring aircraft to Ukraine: "We cannot use these machines, so let's transfer them to a place where they can save human lives, and we can get some of our money back." At the same time, he added that the planes are still in Slovakia, and "the decision has not yet been fully made," the newspaper reports. The Republic, in case of sending fighters to Ukraine, will receive financial compensation from the European Union.
The Cabinet of Ministers should find out what legal steps need to be taken for the possible transfer of fighters to Ukraine. Heger, as noted by the TASR news agency, does not see the problem of making changes to the Slovak constitution, if necessary, or the adoption of a special law on assistance to Ukraine in the republic.
"MiG-29 fighters have been taken out of service [by the Air Force], and Slovakia cannot use them, but just these MiGs can save many innocent lives in Ukraine," the agency quoted Heger as saying.
Heger, according to TASR, criticized former Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who heads the largest party of the parliamentary opposition - Direction - Social Democracy, who opposes the transfer of the MiG-29 to Ukraine and initiated a debate on this issue in the National Council (Parliament) on February 14. The leader of the Social Democrats considers unconstitutional the option of sending fighters to Ukraine, since the current Cabinet of Ministers was given a vote of no confidence by the supreme legislative body on December 15, 2022 and its competence is limited.
Slovak President Zuzana Chaputova stressed on Friday that the issue of the possibility of transferring fighter jets to Ukraine is not in her competence. The government of Acting Prime Minister Heger should solve it with experts in the field of constitutional law, the head of state believes.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, at a meeting with Heger held in Brussels on Thursday on the sidelines of an emergency EU summit, officially appealed to Slovakia with a request to transfer supersonic MiG-29 fighters to his country. The acting Prime Minister, as previously informed by TASR, assured Zelensky that Slovakia would do its best to satisfy Ukraine's request. This issue will be discussed in the republic and at the EU level. Assistance to Ukraine, as the Slovak politician said, "corresponds to the national interests of Slovakia and the interests of European security."
Slovakia withdrew the MiG-29 squadron from the National Air Force at the end of August 2022. In the future, they should be replaced by American F-16s, the contract for the supply of which was signed by Slovakia.
