BRUSSELS – Serbian PM Aleksandar Vučić met with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and the North Atlantic Council on Wednesday. This is the first time ever a Serbian Prime Minister meets with the decision-making body of the NATO.
During their joint press release, Stoltenberg stated that NATO and Serbia share the same values of human rights, democracy and the rule of law and that both face the same security challenges.
“Serbia is at the heart of the Balkan region, which is at the heart of Europe and we share the same neighbourhood. Consequences for Europe with terrorism with instability and, not least, challenges related to the returning foreign fighters we will also face together. We are addressing together in different ways the consequences of the migrant and the refugee crisis”, said Stoltenberg.
Jens Stoltenberg also praised Serbia as an exporter of stability and a close partner of NATO, while respecting the neutrality and sovereign decisions of Serbia. Stoltenberg expressed regret over the deaths of the victims of NATO’s 1999 air campaign, when it bombed the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
PM Aleksandar Vučić noted that KFOR’s presence in Kosovo-Metohija is greatly significant for Serbia, adding that he had said this to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and officials of NATO member states during meetings at the alliance’s headquarters and also asked them that the KFOR troops remain there.
Both noted that they had an excellent first meeting with the Atlantic Council.