19.10.2017.
Minister Vulin opens CSTO Youth Forum
Today, at the Guards Club on Topčider, Minister of Defence Aleksandar Vulin has opened the Youth Forum of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO).
This important international event, organized by the Military Academy, will be held at Belgrade, from October 18 to 21, and will be attended by scientists and experts, ambassadors, students and cadets from the Russian Federation, Belarus, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.
Opening the Forum, Minister Vulin told guests that they had come to Serbia, a country that can receive, love, and that can fight.- You came to Serbia, a country where freedom is appreciated above all. No generation in the history of the Serbian people has ever given a wrong answer when asked about what it is willing to do for freedom. The Serbian people were ready to do everything for freedom, so today we can proudly say that you have come to the land of free people, the land of people who understand the need of any nation, any religion, to be different and proud of themselves. But also, with its diversity, it makes this only common world of ours worth living - Minister Vulin said.
He reminded that Serbia is a militarily neutral country.
- But this does not mean that military neutrality is a justification for evil not being recognized. Serbia recognizes the evil of terrorism, hatred ... Serbia recognizes the evil that is happening to others and is always against evil, brave and open. Such were also its ancestors.
The Minister of Defence told the guests that we presented ourselves to them with the best we have.
- We presented ourselves with the faces, knowledge and the virtues of our children. These are the best and the future of our Armed Forces, our state, will rest on them, and with the Serbs, the army and the state mean the people. With the Serbs, the army and the state mean everything. Travelling all over the world, especially those younger ones who have whole life in front of them, you will be able to see even better armed forces and richer lands, but believe me, you will never see any more hospitable and brave people and people who value freedom more. These are the Serbs and that is Serbia - Aleksandar Vulin said.He stressed that he believed that the participants in the gathering, learning and working, will send a message to the world that the future will not accept hatred.
- The future will certainly not be left to those who see the evidence of their own existencein in hatred and violence; from here you will send a message that brotherhood is possible, brotherhood of free nations, brotherhood of people who recognize evil and oppose it when they see it. You have come to the land of free people who understand someone's pain, and who, above all, value the goodness of a man and freedom. I wish you to remember Serbia, to remember it for good things, and I wish that when you come back home and when you are asked where you were, you say that you were in the country of free people.
In his welcoming speech, the CSTO Secretary General, General Yury Grigorievich Khachaturov, welcomed all participants of the event attended by representatives of 19 colleges and member states and Serbia.The distinguished guest said that Serbia, the place where the event is taking place, is one of the most important regions of Eurasia. Speaking about the reason for the formation of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, he stressed that, in his deepest conviction, there is nothing worse in the world than the war.
- Anything else can be bad or very bad, and the organisation was created precisely for the purpose of ensuring that there is no war on the territory of the member states. The CSTO has good intentions and according to the statute, it does not have the right to interfere with the internal affairs of the member states, unless they express such a wish, and if they do not have enough strength to solve their own problems - General Khachaturov said and pointed out that this is exactly the root of their organization.
Speaking about the history and values of the organization, he said that over the years, a lot has been done and that the legal basis for its existence has been created.
- Now we have no problem solving any issues in our area, we have carried out dozens of exercises of our forces for operational response, and this year we are finalizing two major strategic exercises - the CSTO Secretary General said, and briefly elaborated international contacts and some of the security challenges in area of Eurasia, including terrorist threats and a migrant crisis, but also drug trafficking.
General Yury Grigorievich Khachaturov made it clear that he was glad to see the youth forum taking place in Serbia and not in the member states.- This way we are approaching the heart of Europe, and what is said here will be easier to hear, and this may bring some changes for the better, when it comes to trusting us, because we neither pretend to anyone's territories nor we have any aggressive intentions towards others countries. We only defend the independence of our member states and we will always be faithful only to that task, the general said most cordially thanking the Ministry of Defence for the excellent organisation of the gathering, and especially Minister Vulin whom he called comarad.
- Everything is on a high level, and I tell the students that they should keep speaking every day of their lives something for the benefit of peace and to convince someone that peace has no alternative. One day you will be leaders in your countries making key decisions, and do not bring aggressive and bad decisions at that time, but only those that bring peace and happiness to people - the general said.After his address, Minister Vulin presented the distinguished guest with the plaque of the Ministry of Defence while he received from the CSTO Secretary General a medal for successful cooperation.
On the occasion of the CSTO Youth Forum, a ceremony was held at the Guards Club on Topčider, tonight.The artistic programme was attended by the CSTO General Secretary General Yury Grigorievich Khachaturov, State Secretary in the Ministry of Defence Bojan Jocić, representatives of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces and participants in the Youth Forum.
The audience was addressed by the Chief of the National Defence School,Colonel Miroslav Talijan, who said that the contents of of the ceremony that evening testifies about the history of the Serbian people, its libertarian and progressive tradition.
Artist Ivana Žigon took care of the direction of the multimedia presentation, and the "Kosovo Peonies" group and actor Lepomir Ivković took part.
The Youth Forum will be realized through a series of scientific-educational, cultural-artistic and sports-recreational activities.
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