The Chief of the General Staff, Major General Dobran Božič, added that Slovenia was the only country to offer Italy aid in kind with its patrol boat Triglav in the face of the refugee crisis off Lampedusa.

According to Jakič, the estimated EUR 500,000 cost of the deployment of Triglav will be covered by Slovenia, but the minister noted that the cost would have stood at EUR 180,000 even if Triglav had remained docked in Koper the entire time.

Moreover, he said Italy had been helping Slovenia in controlling its airspace, which cost several times more than this operation, adding that money should not be an issue when it comes to humanitarian aid anyway.

Slovenia is waiting for Italy to sign a technical agreement on the deployment that will define the working area for the Slovenian contingent, which is expected to depart on 12 December and start the mission three days later.

The 41-strong contingent with 37 crew members is to remain stationed on Sicily until the end of January.

Contingent commander Andrej Pečar said that Triglav will patrol the delegated waters, monitor incoming vessels and provide help to troubled ships and then hand refugees to the Italian authorities.

He explained that Triglav could take around 80 people on board or more in emergencies, but he added that "saving as many lives as possible" was the main guideline.