NATO Chief, Slovak Prime Minister Discuss Russia's 'Destabilizing' Actions

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday held a meeting with Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger in Brussels, discussing collective security that the military alliance deems to be threatened by Moscow's alleged aggressive actions

BRUSSELS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th April, 2021) NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday held a meeting with Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger in Brussels, discussing collective security that the military alliance deems to be threatened by Moscow's alleged aggressive actions.

"Glad to welcome PM @eduardheger to congratulate him on his appointment & thank him for our valued Ally #Slovakia's contributions to #NATO. Discussed shared security challenges, including #Russia's pattern of destabilising & aggressive actions, which raise very serious concerns," Stoltenberg tweeted.

The NATO chief added during the joint press conference that the alliance supported the Czech Republic in the investigation into the 2014 explosions at an ammunition depot in Vrbetice.

On April 17, Prague announced that 18 Russian diplomats would be expelled from the country over suspicion of the Russian military intelligence's involvement in the 2014 blasts, which killed two Czech nationals.

Moscow retaliated by expelling 20 Czech diplomats, prompting Prague to order more diplomats out in response.

On Saturday, The New York Times reported that Bulgarian arms merchant Emilian Gebrev confirmed to the newspaper that he had supplied weapons to Kiev during the active phase of the conflict in eastern Ukraine and stored ammunition in Vrbetice warehouses. On Sunday, Czech President Milos Zeman said that the investigation of the explosion confirmed that the arms stored in the depots belonged to the Bulgarian businessman. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova then challenged Prague to disclose what kind of weapons were stored in Vrbetice at the time.