06.11.2009.

Minister in Slovakia

The Slovakian defense minister Jaroslav Bashka stated today in Bratislava that his country supported Serbia’s integrations in EU and official Belgrade’s stance regarding Kosovo.

Slovakia “supports the open door policy which entails that Serbia get an open door to EU and possible membership in NATO”, as Baska said in his media statement after the talks with the Serbian defense minister Dragan Sutanovac.

Bashka pointed out that “Slovakia supported Serbia’s position regarding the Kosovo status”.

Slovakia supports Serbia in its path to EU, including such processes as the liberalization of visa regime, and we have received clear support for Serbia’s further cooperation with NATO within the Partnership for Peace Program, as Minister Sutanovac said adding that he had discussed the same issue yesterday with the Slovakian minister of foreign Miroslav Lajcak.

As regards Kosovo, Sutanovac stated that “Slovakia unselfishly supports Serbia’s stances regarding Kosovo and its protection of the international law”.

"I have informed the ministers of defense and foreign about the current situation in Kosovo, and we believe it is extremely important that there are countries which participate within KFOR which have not yet recognized Kosovo”.

Serbian defense minister stated that he had discussed the defense cooperation with Bashka as well as using the experiences of the Slovakian army in the professionalization process”.

“It is our wish to finalize this process by the end of the next yea”, said Sutanovac, adding that Slovakia had extensive experience in this area which could be of use to Serbia”.

Bashka commented that the process of professionalization had finished four years ago in Slovakia, which was now ready to share these experiences with Serbia.

The two ministers also discussed the possibility of cooperation in defense industry and educating officers while estimating that both countries had large capacities in the area of defense industry, which need to be deployed.

Furthermore, Sutanovac also had talks with the Vice President of the Slovakian Government Dusan Caplovic.

He discussed the process of cooperation with the two countries European integrations and Kosovo.

As part of the visit, the Serbian delegation headed by Minister of Defense of Serbia laid a commemorative wreath at the Serbian military cemetery in Veliki Medjer, a place some 70 km from Bratislava,in memory of the Serbian POWs who died there during WWI.

This is the second largest foreign Serbian military cemetery, where five thousand people were buried.

BETA news agency