05.12.2014.

Gasic and Auroy about cooperation with NATO

Minister of Defence Bratislav Gasic told the Assistant NATO Assistant Secretary General for Defence Investment Patrick Auroy that Serbia is firmly dedicated to improving stability in the region and, accordingly to its abilities, it actively contributes to regional and global security.

“Interoperability of our forces with partnership countries is of great importance for Serbia. This is why we want to access the Individual Partnership Program as soon as possible, which would represent the highest form of cooperation of NATO with a partnership country which has not decided to join the Alliance. We see the Individual Partnership Program as an optimal cooperation framework which can contribute to further improvement of our defence system”, Minister Gasic said.

During the meeting, Minister Gasic said that Serbia’s present participation in mechanisms of Partnership for Peace that enable preparation of armed forces for an active contribution within multinational operations is extremely important for our members.

Minister of Defence said that the arguments for formation of the so-called Armed Forces of Kosovo are unacceptable. As he stressed, such announcement negatively influences the implementation of the Brussels Agreement between Belgrade and Pristina. “KFOR is the only responsible carrier of security and any decision related to creation of military formations in Kosovo and Metohija is a violation of the Resolution 1244, but it can also negatively affect the relations between Serbia and NATO”, Minister of Defence concluded.