The Task Could Be Solved Only by Excellent Cooperation

“With your work you have achieved the appreciation and respect of the international community for your homeland meanwhile you have gained honor to the blue beret that distinguishes the soldiers of the United Nations", emphasized Lt.-Gen. Orosz.

At the ceremony, Lt.-Gen. Milan Maxim, the Chief of the General Staff of the armed forces of Slovakia said that „each of you has contributed by his or her own share to the fulfillment of the mission’s basic goal: to prevent the resumption of hostilities between the Greek and Turkish citizens of Cyprus, to ensure adherence to the ceasefire between the belligerent parties, and to contribute to the restoration and preservation of law and order on the island".

The lieutenant-general highlighted the international nature of the contingent, where in sector 4, members of the Slovak, Hungarian, Serbian and Ukrainian armed forces operate alongside each other under Slovak leadership. As he noted, this joint cooperation of troops may serve as an example for both belligerent parties in Cyprus to seek ways to build mutual cooperation and trust.

During the ceremony, the troops returning from the mission – including the 20 peacekeepers of the Hungarian contingent – were presented with the UN and UNFICYP medals for service in Cyprus. Lt.-Gen. dr. Zoltán Orosz pinned the medals on the Hungarians’ uniforms.

At a press conference held after the ceremony, Lt.-Gen. Milan Maxim told us that the cooperation between Hungarian and Slovak troops serving in Cyprus is improving day by day. He added that he himself was very satisfied with the joint work.
Lt.-Gen. Zoltán Orosz told us that the UNFICYP mission continues to be an important one among the roles assumed by the Hungarian Defence Forces in the future too, and our troop contribution will be kept on the present level.

In the last one year, Lt.-Col. Márton Szász was the commander of the Hungarian contingent of the UNFICYP mission. The present one has been the third tour of duty for the deputy chief of the HDF Joint Force Command Operations Control Directorate, as he has already served in Afghanistan and Cyprus before.

“The past one year has been full of work and experience. Basically, the contingent executed the tasks of the UNFICYP mandate, but on top of these, it had to tackle many challenges as well", the lieutenant-colonel said, adding that the 12 months spent on the island have been very useful to him, and that he has been able to learn a lot of professional lessons too. As a commander, he had to closely cooperate with the soldiers of nations serving in Sector 4, and he had good relations with the commanders of the British- and Argentine-led sectors as well.

Unlike others, Capt. Róbert Bolesza has served two years rather than one in Cyprus. He was posted as senior officer for operational planning at the UNFICYP HQ, and that is a special position for which the two-year continuous presence is indispensable. The present one has been his third tour of duty on the Mediterranean island, but this time he had completely different duties like before. Earlier he had been assigned tasks related to the Hungarian contingent, but this time he had to liaise with representatives of 48 countries.

“Hungarian soldiers are posted in very important positions at the UNFICYP HQ. Besides the senior officer for operational planning, the chief physician, the hygienist and the senior officer for personnel management are also Hungarians. Apart from them, Hungarian soldiers fill a duty officer and a camp commander billet too. I think all six are trying key positions in their kind", the captain said.

Photos by the author