WEBVTT

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Hello.
First, a short introduction.

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Today, the most important part
has just taken place

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or is still taking place.

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The first historic meeting
of the NATO-Ukraine Council,

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which is in fact
the first real step

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of Ukraine's
rapprochement with NATO.

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Today, President Zelensky

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spoke as an equal member with
the representatives of NATO members.

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This is the best proof

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of how strongly all NATO members
support Ukraine's efforts

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in its just struggle
against the aggressor

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and its just struggle
to achieve peace.

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The message was unanimous,

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there was not a single voice today
that would dispute in any way

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that Ukraine
is moving closer to NATO,

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all the speakers were unanimous
in their support

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for Ukraine's efforts
in the fight against the aggressor.

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Including Slovenia, which
has participated in this so far

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and will continue to do so.

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Least of all
with military equipment,

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mostly with civilian equipment,
including medical supplies,

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and, above all, in the area of
demining the territory of Ukraine.

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I know you have questions,

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I will not repeat things
that were said yesterday.

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Let me go first today.

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What did you talk about
with the President of Poland?

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The President of Poland and I

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mainly exchanged views
on the security situation.

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On the one hand,
the security situation in Belarus.

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This is an area that is, of course,
of great interest to Poland

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which borders Belarus.

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On the other hand, we exchanged views
on the situation in the Balkans,

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particularly in relation to Kosovo,
Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

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We mainly talked
about these two areas.

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Did you speak about Slovenia's plan
to purchase armoured vehicles?

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Of course, we have highlighted
the fact that Slovenia

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is at the stage of deciding
which of the allied countries

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will it partner with in the armoured
vehicles deal. Let me reiterate

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that all the talks are being held
at the governmental level.

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Today, we have once again called
on the Polish authorities

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to ensure that their supplier
makes the best,

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most competitive offer
possible.

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The Rosomak armoured vehicles, which
the Polish army is equipped with,

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have proven themselves
in past operations

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as some
of the most reliable ones.

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This is why they are interesting
for the Slovenian Armed Forces.

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About Ukraine and the meeting
with President Zelensky.

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Yesterday, he was
critical of the uncertainty

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regarding Ukraine's membership.

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What do you think?

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Is this sufficient reassurance?
What did he point out at the meeting?

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Today is a new day, and that
was also felt at the meeting.

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Today, we were unanimous,
there were no critical voices.

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This message of unity
is most important.

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There may also have been
some miscommunication yesterday.

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Today those
apparent disagreements

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or rather misunderstandings
were done away with

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and were not talked about
during the session.

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What about
further military aid?

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I believe that Ukrainian soldiers
thanked Slovenia for the drones.

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Could you tell us about
all of the military aid

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that Slovenia has given Ukraine
so far and will give in the future?

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Slovenia was
among the first to help.

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We helped with the equipment
we had available.

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Lately we have been trying to help
in areas of so-called "double use".

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Drones are precisely one such area,
as is demining.

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I believe we can contribute
more in these areas

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than in areas
of classic military equipment

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and we will stick
to these areas in the future.

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Has there been any talk

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about the bilateral
security guarantees

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that Ukraine is meant
to receive from the G7?

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Slovenia did not
participate in this.

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The G7 members
were unified in these assurances.

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I believe that we must
do everything in our power

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to achieve
just and lasting peace.

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As a future member
of the UN Security Council,

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Slovenia will do everything it can
to achieve peace swiftly.

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And the guarantees can only come
into force once we achieve peace.

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Without peace
there can be no solution.

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Slovenia can contribute little
in the way of guarantees,

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perhaps it can contribute more
in finding peace.

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Will Slovenia enter
into this agreement?

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Mr. Zelensky said that the document
is open to other countries.

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As I always say
regarding foreign policy,

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all discussions are first
held in the National Assembly.

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No one would dare decide
on such matters on their own.

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We will bring this case
to the Committee on Foreign Policy

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and if the Committee decides in
favour of support, we will do so.

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Regional defence plans
were yesterday's topic,

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but how do you view all of this
and where does Slovenia stand now?

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Perhaps the Minister of Defence
should answer this.

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We are happy, as the defence plans
are mainly for the South.

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They apply
to more than just Europe,

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they also cover the Global South,
meaning Africa,

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as well
as the war on terrorism,

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which was one of the conditions
for NATO expansion.

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I will let the Minister of Defence
tell you more about any specifics.

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Thank you. Slovenia will be
operating in the south-east.

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Our forces are currently
in Slovakia and Latvia.

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In Latvia
we are mostly cooperating

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with North Macedonia and Montenegro
under Canadian command.

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We intend to stay there
and strengthen this cooperation.

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But we are also thinking about

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moving our units
to Romania in the future.

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We already
talked about this.

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We are adopting
a deterrence posture

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and Slovenia will operate
in the south-east.

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Mr. Šarec,
could you tell us any specifics

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about when our forces will be moved
from Slovakia to Romania?

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After 2024, no earlier.

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Will the number remain the same
as it is in Slovakia?

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We will decide
according to the situation.

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We will also need to ensure enough
forces for rotation, et cetera.