11.06.2011.
Interview of General Miletic to "Politika"
Military Summit in Belgrade is a privilege for Serbia, said Serbian Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Miloje Miletic
As a Chief of Staff, I feel privileged that the Strategic Military Partner Conference is to be held in Belgrade next week. Many countries are interested in holding this gathering. It was decided that this year's conference is held in Serbia and it is great credit to our country, our defence system, Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces, says Serbian Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Miloje Miletic for Politika daily.
As an officer with the experience from the war of the nineties, he says that he fully understands the emotions when one mentions the Western military alliance and that we must not forget what happened in 1999, but that Serbia should create friends around the world and through dialogue with partners, protect our interests.- In public, this gathering is presented as a "NATO Conference", which is not true. First of all, not all NATO countries have confirmed their participation at the Conference, and this Alliance makes all decisions by consensus. Second, participants in the Conference are also the countries participating in the Partnership for Peace which includes Serbia, the Mediterranean Dialogue, the Istanbul Initiative, as well as Brazil, Australia, India, Japan, New Zealand and Pakistan. Russia, which is in the Partnership for Peace much more active than Serbia, will also be presented at a high level. Nobody, not even the NATO states, does not call into question our military neutrality. On the contrary, they have understanding for our position – General Miletic says.
The military summit in Belgrade has raised the greatest interest since 2006, when the first Strategic Military Partner Conference was held, organized by the Allied Command Transformation, Norfolk, the United States.
- CHODs and their deputies or representatives were invited, which clearly shows that what is dominant is the professional, and not the political dimension of the Conference. Topics of the Conference are partnership and transformation. The purpose is to deepen cooperation and trust between the countries, exchange opinions, knowledge and experience on the most topical strategic and security issues – Miletic said.
He notes that the Conference is an excellent opportunity for the affirmation of the capacities that the Ministry of Defence and SAF can offer in international cooperation. These are primarily the CBRN Personnel Training Centre in Krusevac, the Peacekeeping Operations Centre, Military Medical Academy, Military Academy and the "South" Base in which the practical part of training for multinational operations could be conducted.
Multinational operations are something through which reliability of partners is largely evaluated. Serbia takes part in several UN missions, and will soon raise the level of participation in missions in Lebanon and Cyprus to platoons.
Recently signed Security Agreement with the EU allows the engagement in their missions, so that, for the start, one officer in the foreseeable future will be attached to each of the crews of Greek and French ships patrolling off the Somali coast, countering attacks of pirates on merchant ships.
