15.08.2014.

Ministers Gasic and Shoygu: Cooperation in the field of defence improving

Defence Minister Bratislav Gasic met with Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation Sergey Shoygu in Moscow, where they stated that the cooperation between the two countries is constantly improving. Noting that quality and quantity have progressed in that domain, they concluded that the achieved results have followed the great political and economic relations between Serbia and Russia, which is also confirmed by the numerous visits in the past and future period.

The two ministers concluded that improving cooperation in the domain of joint training and exercises is necessary in order to achieve interoperability and functionality of the armed forces. Gasic and Shoygu stressed that working on preserving peace and security in the world is important and that it is necessary to exchange gained experiences in multinational operations. They also pointed out that it is necessary to improve military educational, military technical and military medical cooperation.

Minister Gasic thanked for the understanding that the Russian officials have had when it comes to Serbia’s position on the crisis in Ukraine, support to territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia and efforts to peacefully resolve the Kosovo and Metohija issue. Defence Minister said that Serbia, as a neutral country, intends to develop a bilateral balanced cooperation with all states and international factors, in adherence to mutual interest, even with the European Union as one of the key foreign political goals.

Bratislav Gasic thanked the Russian Federation again for their help during the floods that had hit Serbia and pointed out that climate changes on the global level have shown that stronger connections are needed in providing help and relief from natural disasters.

The delegation of the Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces of Serbia will attend, on the second day of the official visit to Russia, the closing ceremony of the international competition “Tank Biathlon 2014”, where representatives of the armed forces of 12 countries have taken part, including members of the Armed Forces of Serbia.