16.03.2013.

Seeing the Serbian peacekeepers off to Cyprus and Lebanon

In the "South" base, the members of the Serbian Armed Forces that will participate in multinational operations in Cyprus and Lebanon have been officially seen off. The seeing off was attended by the Chief of General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces General Ljubisa Dikovic, Army Commander Lieutenant General Aleksandar Zivkovic, Head of the MoD Strategic Planning Department Major General Mitar Kovac, representatives of local governments of Vranje, Bujanovac and Presevo, Ministry of Interior and religious communities and members of families, relatives and friends of participants in peacekeeping operations.

General Dikovic handed the flags of the Republic of Serbia to platoon leaders Major Ljubomir Punic and Captain Milos Todorovic, greeted all the members of the military heading to peacekeeping mission and wished them luck in carrying out this important task.

General Dikovic pointed out that the tradition of the Republic of Serbia is an important mainstay in positioning of our country in international relations and recalled the work of our ancestors in the liberation wars and wonderful examples of the behavior of our military in peacekeeping operations in Sinai, Burundi and other countries.

"We are proud to continue this tradition and this is the third rotation of our soldiers deployed in multinational operations – General Dikovic said to future peacekeepers – that they are participating in the peacekeeping operation together with the armies of other countries. Develop relationships, as it is in the tradition of our nation, with members of other armies and it will be a great contribution to the reputation of Serbia around the world today when we are looking for our position where we see that is the best for us. We are committed to the European Union, so we began to deploy our people to missions of the European Union. In this way, the Armed Forces, as an important institution in the system, will contribute to Serbia's image in the world."

"It will not be easy for you, it will not be simple, it will be difficult and demanding" – General Dikovic emphasized. "Your willingness, level of knowledge, skills and habits that you have is a guarantee of success in completing the task and from this position I express confidence that you will be at least as good as your predecessors were, both in Cyprus and in Lebanon. What should be essential is order, discipline, and execution of tasks and to protect yourselves, because protecting yourselves you protect others. I wish you success in the mission, safe trip, and to transmit the glory of our military and our Serbia and to write a wonderful part of your life story".

Currently, the Serbian Armed Forces has 111 members in six UN mandated multinational operations and in two EU mandated peacekeeping operations. Today, 43 officers and soldiers took off for the Republic of Cyprus, through Hungary. A number of 36 members of the Serbian Armed Forces will take off for the Republic of Lebanon, through Spain, They will spend two months in Spain for training, and at the end of the year, the number of members of the Serbian Armed Forces in Lebanon will grow to 160 people, as in November the company will be deployed to the area of multinational operation in Lebanon.

By the end of the year, according to the Head of the Centre for Peacekeeping Operations of the SAF GS Joint Operations Command, Colonel Milivoje Pajovic, it has been planned to deploy 475 soldiers of the Serbian Armed Forces in various multinational operations. "We decided to acknowledge in a solemn way the members of the Serbian contingent who have proven by their readiness that they can, on an equal basis with other members of the armies of the world, spread the glory of the Republic of Serbia abroad and thus increase the reputation of the Republic of Serbia in an international environment", Colonel Pajovic said.