German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that Berlin is committed to the long-term deployment of soldiers and anti-aircraft Patriot missile systems in Slovakia to protect against Russian threats.
"The Patriots will stay as long as you need them here on the ground," she said Tuesday after talks with her counterpart Ivan Korcok in the Slovak capital of Bratislav.
"This is not a flash in the pan, this is solidarity in action. We are together also on this security issue."
Patriot air defence systems and about 300 Bundeswehr soldiers had been stationed in Slovakia after the Ukraine war began.
In addition, the Bundeswehr sent another 300 or so soldiers to a multinational task force in the country bordering Ukraine in April. Baerbock said 640 soldiers are currently stationed there.
NATO's eastern allies feel particularly threatened by Russia.
Slovakia does not have a border with Russia, but it does have a frontier with Ukraine that is more than 100 kilometres long.
Baerbock and Korcok also said that the Defence Ministries of both countries would negotiate further arms deliveries to Ukraine as part of a ring swap. However, they did not give details.
