Prague - If the USA, Russia and Syria reach an agreement on the destruction of the latter's chemical arsenal, the Czech Republic's Liberec-based anti-chemical weapons unit could participate in the process.
Czech Defense Minister Vlastimil Picek admitted this possibility in an interview with Aktualne.cz. He added though that the unit will participate only if NATO asks for it and the Czech parliament approves it. "Nobody has asked us yet, so we are speaking in a purely theoretical sense," said Picek.
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The minister agrees that the Liberec-based unit is well-trained for such operations. "I do not deny that. In this regard, it is among the absolute elite. If it wasn't, it couldn't be in NATO's rapid reaction force. But I do not want to anticipate, because it is above all the international community that is involved in solving this complicated Syrian conflict, the Czech Republic has no part in that. Moreover, nobody has asked us to help in any way to solve the Syrian conflict."
"By the way, the Czech Republic has condemned the use of chemical weapons by any side. That's why we continue to prefer round-table talks and diplomacy to solve the Syrian conflict. So it is up to you to speculate whether we can be of any use in Syria. But I understand your curiosity."
"There are clear rules for the deployment of NATO rapid reaction units, and they will have to be unconditionally observed. On the other side, the Liberec anti-chemical weapons unit is an elite unit available to NATO. The Czech Republic certainly has a unique ability to participate in the destruction of or protection against chemical weapons."
Czech chemical weapons experts were in Jordan last year to help prepare the nation for a possible chemical attack from Syria.
Picek was named defense minister in March 2013 by then-Prime Minister Petr Necas and kept his post even after the Necas government resigned in June and was replaced by the current technocratic cabinet of Jiri Rusnok.
It is possible that Czech President Milos Zeman will want Picek to keep his post even after the early election scheduled for late-October, but Picek refused to comment on this.
Picek is not a member of any political party.
