Czech anti-chemical weapons troops currently deployed in Kuwait for training purposes will stay there as long as it is necessary, the Czech defense minister said Sunday (see GSN, March 21).

“We will remain here as long as needed,” said Defense Minister Jaroslav Tvrdik during a visit to Kuwait.

The Czech unit, consisting of 250 soldiers, arrived in Kuwait in March to take part in nuclear, chemical and biological warfare exercises along with U.S. and German troops.  The exercises were “normal” and not associated with any impending military action against Iraq, Tvrdik said (Associated Press/Yahoo.com, April 28).

The cost of the unit’s deployment in Kuwait will be covered from the public budget, according to the Czech news agency CTK.  The Czech Republic had allocated more than $17 million for the war on terrorism.  The decision was made to fund the deployment out of the public budget after the opposition had objected to using government bonds (CTK/BBC Monitoring, April 29).

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