PM Stresses Successful Mission of Slovenian Troops in Kosovo
Prime Minister Janez Jansa stressed on Saturday that the 10th Motorised Battalion's Kosovo mission was a success. Slovenia's largest contingent abroad to date, which returned from the KFOR peace-keeping mission in early September, was praised by both the Albanians and Serbians, according to Jansa.
Jansa said that praise for the Slovenian troops was also given by NATO and EU representatives. "I heard commendations about your work from everybody," the prime minister added at a ceremony that marked the return of some 500 members of the Sokol battlegroup after six months in Kosovo. However, Jansa believes that the praise by those who were given direct assistance by the Slovenian troops was worth much more than being lauded by those who monitored the mission from afar.
Defence Minister Karl Erjavec meanwhile awarded a honorary recognition to Lieutenant Colonel Miha Skerbinc-Barbo, the commander of the battlegroup, and the entire 10th Motorised Battalion. The minister and Skerbinc-Barbo also held a news conference prior to the ceremony, with Erjavec saying that "today is one of the happiest day of my term in office".
According to Erjavec, Slovenia was for the first time in its history involved with a battalion in crisis response operations, but the most important reason for celebration was that all the soldiers returned home "alive and well".
According to Simon Korez, Slovenian Armed Forces spokesman, the final cost of the mission should stand at around EUR 9m.
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