26.09.2023.
Meeting between Serbian and Norwegian defence ministers
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Miloš Vučević met with the Minister of Defence of Norway, Bjørn Arild Gram, at the Old General Staff in Belgrade today.
Following the welcoming ceremony held by the Serbian Armed Forces Guard, the two ministers had a tête-à-tête conversation and the two countries' delegations held a meeting.According to Minister Vučević, the talks held today were good; they discussed bilateral military cooperation, primarily in the context of current events, both in the Western Balkans region and in Europe and the world.
- Everybody had an opportunity to express their view and it is always an advantage when speaking with friends or friendly countries. We are closely tied by long-standing relations and friendship between the Norwegians and Serbs and between the two countries. We have successful cooperation in many fields, i.e. in the field of energy, and the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Serbia would like to see, with your support and the support of your associates, progress in our defence cooperation – said the Serbian minister of defence.
He thanked his Norwegian counterpart for the opportunity for the Serbian side to express its view of all the events that are taking place, primarily in Kosovo and Metohija.
- These are very difficult days for our people and I hope you won’t mind us not smiling and not being in a particularly good mood. I hope you understand, because we feel great pain, human lives have been lost and Serbia does not have a problem saying that it condemns the murder of the Albanian policeman, but it cannot remain dumb, deaf and blind to the persecution and killing of the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija either – Minister Vučević emphasized. According to him, Serbia would like peace to be established in Ukraine and the war to stop, because that would be a salvation for our economies and for the European economies, but that peace should be based on the principles of public international law, "because Serbia firmly believes in the compliance with public international law, i.e. in the existence of the value system in which legal norms are conformed to".
Minister Vučević expressed our readiness to continue the cooperation with the Ministry of Defence of Norway, in all matters proposed by the Norwegian side.
- Our associates will continue the talks in order to precisely define everything so that it can be implemented properly. I look forward to our future meetings, I believe that you will report to your government about the situation in the region objectively and that Norway will be present in this part of Europe as a partner and friend to all countries and nations, including friendly Serbia - Minister Vučević concluded.
Minister Gram thanked Minister Vučević for the warm welcome and said that this was his first visit to Serbia. He also expressed his satisfaction at the opportunity to see at least a part of our beautiful country. According to him, the talks held in today’s meeting were very productive. He said that the relations between Norway and Serbia were good and the ties between the two countries were strong. Serbia is a candidate for EU membership, he said, which Norway strongly supports.
- We consider Serbia a long-term partner with which we have long-standing and positive ties, and we also share strong historic ties, considering that several thousand victims from this region were buried in Norway after the Second World War – said the Norwegian defence minister.
He said that the topics discussed in the meeting were related to security challenges in Europe, the war in Ukraine, as well as the challenges in the Western Balkans, so, according to him, the meeting was marked by a constructive exchange of opinions. Norway, he said, condemns the attacks on the police in Kosovo and Metohija, too, and he took the opportunity to offer his condolences to the families of all the people killed in this conflict.
- This tragic incident shows how important it is to ease the tension and how important it is to resume the political dialogue, in order to avoid further escalation of the conflict - Minister Gram said.
At the end of his speech, the Norwegian defence minister expressed his satisfaction with the projects that have been finalized and the activities that have been initiated, primarily in the field of military medicine, but also in the field of bilateral cooperation with the Serbian Armed Forces.
Today’s talks were attended by State Secretary at the Ministry of Defence Nemanja Starović, heads of the cabinets of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, Žarko Mićin and Brigadier General Goran Momčilović and the Head of the Training and Doctrine Directorate (J-7, General Staff), Brigadier General Muharem Fazlić.
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