Slovak PM follows Czechs in ruling out foreign NATO troops

PRAGUE (Reuters) - Slovakia joined neighbor the Czech Republic on Wednesday in effectively ruling out hosting NATO units, when Prime Minister Robert Fico said he could not imagine there would be foreign soldiers on its territory.

Fico spoke a day after U.S. President Barack Obama promised to beef up military support for eastern European members of the NATO alliance who fear they could be next in the firing line following Russia's intervention in Ukraine.

The White House also said it would review permanent troop deployments in Europe in light of the Ukraine crisis, though that fell short of a firm commitment to put troops on the ground that Poland and some of its neighbors - but not the Czechs or Slovaks - had sought.

Slovakia, a NATO and European Union member since 2004, has kept warm relations with Russia throughout the crisis under Fico, whose Smer party has an absolute majority in parliament.

https://news.yahoo.com/slovak-pm-follows-czechs-ruling-foreign-nato-troops-131327258.html