Cooperating with NATO is vital so as to guarantee the security and safety of Serbs in Kosovo, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic stated on Tuesday after assembly with Jens Stoltenberg, the bloc’s secretary-general.
Serbia had canceled all workout routines with NATO and Russia alike in 2022, to reiterate its army neutrality within the Ukraine battle. Vucic has additionally refused to be a part of the Western embargo on Russia, regardless of repeated stress from the US and the EU.
“We will always cooperate with NATO,” the Serbian president stated. “As the commander in chief, I will ask the government to consider the decision to resume joint exercises with NATO, which we had before.”
According to Stoltenberg, NATO understands Serbia’s want to not be part of any army bloc and believes that holding joint workout routines wouldn’t undermine that place.
NATO’s Kosovo Force (KFOR) has been stationed within the breakaway Serbian province since 1999, following the bloc’s 78-day air struggle towards Belgrade on behalf of ethnic Albanian separatists.
Vucic has vowed to always remember “NATO aggression,” however referred to as on the bloc to shield the Serbs in Kosovo from the “pogrom” by ethnic Albanians.
Although KFOR retains saying it ensures the security of everybody “only the Serbs have been threatened and attacked, never the Albanians,” Vucic stated at a press convention with Stoltenberg. He additionally reminded the customer that NATO “likes” the UN Security Council Resolution 1244 to justify KFOR’s mandate, however tends to ignore that it ensures Serbia’s sovereignty over Kosovo.
Stoltenberg famous that NATO has despatched 1,000 troops to Kosovo, urged “both sides” to follow restraint, and argued that the elevated presence of Serbian troops close to the province was not useful. Vucic stated that the Serbian Army has not acted exterior of its authority or endangered anybody, and that “where we put our troops is our own business.”
The NATO head arrived in Belgrade on Monday night as a part of his Balkans tour, having already visited Bosnia-Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Kosovo. Most NATO members have acknowledged the breakaway Serbian province as an unbiased state, however Belgrade has refused. Serbia’s place has been endorsed by Russia, China and India, amongst others.
