Off the wire
• UN refugee agency repatriates nearly 6,000 Somali refugees from Kenya  • Gulf Arab markets surge after U.S. Fed interest rate hike  • Stockholm's economy beats national growth rate in Q3  • Jaguar's arrival in Slovakia to increase GDP growth: analysis  • Exhibition suggests ways compact cities can be designed  • Spanish travelers face potential rail chaos on Friday  • Italy hails Libyan deal for unity gov't  • Hungarian former official Biszku gets suspended sentence  • Political advisors call for efforts to boost family service  • Van hits eight and runs in E China  
You are here: 　 Home

Slovakia purchases 23-mln-euro worth of guns for police, military

Xinhua, December 18, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Slovak government is to buy more than 46,000 guns with related equipment worth almost 23 million euros (25 million U.S. dollars) to be used by police, prison guards, customs officers and the military.

Slovak Interior Minister Robert Kalinak on Thursday signed a framework agreement on the purchase. The Slovak police will receive 24,000 guns.

"The Slovak police corps is rearming itself for the first time in 20 years. It's about time," said Kalinak at a press conference on Thursday.

The biggest difference between the currently used guns and the new ones is in their weight and cartridges, said Kalinak. While the police are using Makarov bullets at the moment, they're about to start using Luger cartridges.

"This is ammo used by police across the EU," expressed Kalinak, adding that the goal wouldn't be to kill offenders, but to stop them.

"All these guns will be produced in Slovakia," noted Kalinak. Both weapons companies have assembly plants in the country -- Glock near Bratislava and CZ in Novaky in Western Slovakia. The first deliveries of the new guns are expected to take place in January and February. Endit