08.04.2009.

Sutanovac in Slovenia

Slovenia and Serbia signed the Bilateral Cooperation Agreement which, in the words of the Defense Minister, will be a basic pillar of the cooperation between the two countries and in other areas as well.

After signing the cooperation plan, Minister Sutanovac met with the Slovenian Minister of Defense Ljubica Jelusic , expressing his gratitude for Slovenia’s support to Serbia in its path to European Integrations and canceling the visa regime.

Serbia, as he pointed out, is interested to exchange experiences regarding participation in peace operations, while the MoD representatives were also presented with the possibility to educate their personnel in the Military Academy and the Military Medical Academy in Belgrade.

"We are convinced that we have the capacity we can offer to the Slovenian armed forces. On the other hand, we are also interested in exchanging experiences in peacekeeping operations” said Sutannovac.

Sutanovac also stressed that “Serbia is not very happy with a peace operation in its territory”, he said adding that “we are aware that KFOR is a peace mission” which in a way guarantees the safety and security to Albanians, and Serbs in Kosovo alike.

He also extended his gratitude to Slovenian partners which “within KFOR have 380 people on the ready at every moment”, adding that he was well aware that this was a struggle and a big effort but also a big contribution to the stability and safety in the region.

Sutanovac also discussed the possibilities of cooperation in the military diplomacy, and the reforms, which are being implemented in the defense system of Serbia.

"We talked about regional initiatives, deeply convinced that we should implement adequate regional initiatives and ties. We believe that it is in the best interest of Slovenia and Serbia alike”, was Sutanovac’s estimate, reminding that, besides European integrations, other key points of Serbian foreign policy is to establish good relations in the region.

As for the possibility of Serbia joining nATO, Sutanovac stated that “this was a long shot” and was something that was not being considered at the moment, while the Ministry of Defense of Serbia was still abiding by the Assembly’s decision from December 2007 on Serbia’s neutrality towards NATO.

“In line with this decision we are implementing our policy, but this does not stop us from reaching those standards which are considered best in the world, and these are NATO standards… We are trying to draw on our best experiences with the NATO and the Partnership for Peace and to implement them within our Ministry.

Jelusic also expressed great pleasure at the first meeting at the ministers’ level between Serbia and Slovenia stating that her country would be pleased to convey all experiences in Euro Atlantic integrations to the Serbian colleagues.

"We want to facilitate Serbia’s path to European integrations and all security and defense reforms which have to be implemented.

We exchanged our experiences in UN operations, Slovenia has been part of for the last 12 years, and by signing the Bilateral Military Cooperation Agreement, legal foundations for future cooperation have been laid.

She also said that she had gladly accepted Serbia’s invitation for the representatives of Slovenian air force to take part in the air show scheduled for September in Batajnica.

During his official visit to Slovenia, Sutanovac also met with the Prime Minister of this country Borut Pahor and the President of the Parliament Committee for Defense and Security Jozef Jerovsek.

FoNet news agency