Slovakia plans to reduce the number of its peacekeepers serving in the U.N. mission in the Golan Heights, Defense Minister Juraj Liska said Tuesday. Liska said that Slovakia will send 30 less soldiers when its soldiers there are replaced at the end of the year. At the moment, 95 Slovak soldiers are serving in the mission, AP reported. Slovaks have been a part of the mission since 1998 . The minister said the 30 soldiers will be replaced by peacekeepers from Croatia. «Croats, who are seeking entry to the European Union and NATO, have an interest in joining this mission and serving with us,» Liska said. A 1,050-strong U.N. Disengagement Observer Force serves in the Golan Heights. The force was established in 1974 following the 1973 war to monitor the disengagement of Israeli and Syrian forces in the Golan Heights. Slovakia, one of NATO's newest members, has 569 soldiers serving in various peacekeeping and other missions around the world.
