Ministry of defence Republic of Serbia
 
06.04.2010.

Interview with State Secretary Dušan Spasojevic in “Danas” daily



SERBIAN ARMED FORCES WILL NOT TAKE PART IN THE PEACEKEEPING MISSION IN AFGHANISTAN


Belgrade - The military part of the mission to NATO in Brussels will be established in the first half of this year – Dušan Spasojevic, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Defence said in his interview for “Danas” daily .
He recalls that in August last year, at the proposal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Government appointed Branislav Milinkovi? for our first ambassador and head of mission to NATO, whereas for the military representative, by decree of the President of the Republic, Brigadier General Nebojša ?ukanovi? was appointed.

To what extent Serbia uses its participation in the Partnership for Peace?
- Our ambition within this program is to achieve the status of an advanced partnership for which there are no obstacles. This means that we wish to use all the resources and capacities that are available for us through this program. The defence system and the Serbian Government are doing their best to reach that level.
- Let’s recall, Serbia became a full member of Partnership for Peace (PfP) programme in Riga in November 2006. Our cooperation with the Western Alliance is defined by the membership in Partnership for Peace and the Resolution of the National Assembly of December 2007 declaring the military neutrality. The declared military neutrality obliges all the state bodies and institutions of Serbia, but does not prevent us to fully cooperate in the framework of PfP. We get a great benefit for our military in terms of training, education and advancement of some capacities. Last year we had over a hundred activities. Three quarters of the activities are being implemented by the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces, while 25 percent fall within the responsibility of other ministries – Spasojevi? said.

What can Serbia offer to this partnership?
- What we can offer to the Partners is highly developed centres. These are, first of all, the Centre for Chemical, Biological and Radiological Defence in Kruševac, Military Medical Academy in Belgrade and Dog Training Centre in Niš. Serbia has very highly educated military personnel and this is also what we can offer to other member states.

It can be often heard in public that Serbia is an exporter of security. What does that actually mean?
- This means that you contribute to security beyond the borders of your country, and an importer of security means that other countries help you to maintain security in your own country. At this point, we are the exporters of security which is a special curiosity due to the fact that a peacekeeping mission under the mandate of the United Nations is operating in 15 percent of our country. We are actually talking about the participation of our security forces in peacekeeping missions. At this moment, the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces have their members in four UN-led peacekeeping missions – in Ivory Coast, Congo, Liberia and Chad.

What are future plans regarding the peacekeeping missions?
- This year we plan to take part in three more peacekeeping missions. It has been already agreed to participate together with the Spanish partners, in the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon. We will also take part in the peacekeeping mission in Uganda, and the negotiations on another mission are underway, the details of which we are not able to release in public at the moment. We initiated the conclusion of the Agreement on security procedures for the exchange of classified information with the European Union, which will create the opportunity to get engaged in the EU-led missions.

Is there any possibility for Serbia to participate in the mission in Afghanistan?
- Any employment of the Serbian Armed Forces beyond the borders of our country to this effect must be approved by the National Assembly. At this point we have no plans to participate in this mission.

What is the state of military education in our country?
- This year, we have finished the comprehensive reform of military education, which will be completed by forming the University of Defence. Our Military Academy and the Military Medical Academy are recognised, not only in the region and Europe, but also worldwide. At present there are 46 foreign students being educated either as cadets at the undergraduate level, or members of foreign armies in the command staff and general staff advancement courses. We have students from many countries, including China, the USA, Russia and Turkey. At the level of cadets we have students from almost all the countries in the region, and there are 20 officers, members of the Armed Forces of Algeria at graduate studies in Serbia. Let us recall, in 2006 only 27 candidates from Serbia applied for studying at the Military Academy; last year that number was over a thousand which means that the interest was 50 times greater. Four candidates applies for one seat at the Military Academy, ten candidates for one seat at the Military High School, which is the best proof that our military is an institution which citizens trust the most.

How many members of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces are being educated abroad?
- Last year 192 members of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces completed the education or training programme abroad. Currently, there are 18 our cadets studying at the military academies abroad – eight in Greece, six in Italy, and four cadets in the United States. For the first time after a long period we have our students also in the Russian military schools, and this year we have a Russian officer attending our school.

What is the military cooperation like with Russia?
- We wish to further promote the cooperation with Russia. Our ambitions are to reach a high level of military cooperation between Serbia and the Russian Federation, like the one we have in the political and economic relations. Since 2007, through concrete and constructive steps, initiatives and ideas, we have shown to the Russian side our will and desire that to be so. I think that our efforts might bear fruit by the end of this year already.

Who is Serbia’s best collaborator in the region?
- In the region we have the best relations in this area with Bosnia and Herzegovina, then with Macedonia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary. By the end of April I will visit Zagreb, where we are to harmonize the interstate agreement in the field of defence to be signed by the two ministers in the first half of this year. We are also considering establishing cooperation with Albania. I wish to recall that apart from the development of good bilateral cooperation in the region, the Ministry of Defence participates in the work of all the regional security initiatives.

What is the military cooperation like with other countries?
- We have bilateral cooperation with more than 50 countries. For the last two years we have signed 23 inter-state agreements, of which those with Britain, Spain and Portugal we signed last year. Cooperation in the field of defence with the United States is the best part of the overall bilateral relations between Serbia and the USA. Also, we have excellent cooperation with China in every way. In 2010 we plan to sign more than 20 international agreements. In the first half of this year the agreements with France and Algeria are to be signed.

What is the level of cooperation regarding the defence industry?
- Important contracts were signed with many countries in North Africa and the Middle East, and we have the announcements of new contracts. Military-economic cooperation is not only trade, but it also represents a high degree of trust between the states. It is about the transfer of technology, know-how, joint ventures and performance in third markets, opening new job positions.

Security Policy

What is the direction of the security policy of Serbia?
- There are several priorities of our policy; these are European integrations, the defence of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Kosovo and Metohija, regional cooperation and economic cooperation with the world. There are four pillars of our foreign policy which are generally known – Brussels, Moscow, Beijing and Washington. In every way the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces are an indispensable instrument in terms of state and foreign policy. In the field of European integrations, the European Commission has lately very positively evaluated the reform of the defence system. Cooperation in the field of defence is one of the key factors of cooperation in the region and significantly contributes to building the regional stability. In the last three years we have achieved excellent cooperation in the field of defence with all the countries of the region. From Ankara to Ljubljana and Vienna, we realised the visits at the highest level and also signed agreements on cooperation in the field of defence with most of the regional states.
 
MOD
Ministry of defence Republic of Serbia, Bircaninova 5 street, Belgrade
Questions of citizens: brziodgovor@mod.gov.rs, media requests: info@mod.gov.rs
Reproduction is allowed in the whole and parts with specifying content source