04.05.2020.
A lecture by the Assistant Minister Ranković to the students of the NATO Defence College
At the invitation of the NATO Defence College, the Acting Assistant Minister for Defence Policy, Milan Ranković, delivered a lecture via video conference to the 136th Class of Senior Course Members of the NATO Defence College on the "Defence Policy of the Republic of Serbia in the Context of Current Security Challenges".
The video conference was held due to the fact that the scheduled visit of the representatives of the NATO Defence College could not be carried out due to the current epidemiological situation.In his presentation, Assistant Minister Ranković introduced Senior Course Members to the general commitments and goals of the defence policy of the Republic of Serbia and its cooperation with key international security actors.
In this context, newly adopted strategy documents were presented. It was emphasized that the main starting points in the drafting of the strategy documents were the preservation of sovereignty and territorial integrity, the care for the Serbian people outside Serbian borders, European integration and an effective rule of law.
During the presentation, special attention was paid to military neutrality as a starting point for planning international cooperation on bilateral and multilateral levels.
Bearing in mind that the course members were particularly interested in relations with the NATO, Assistant Minister Ranković pointed out that the Republic of Serbia has no aspirations to become a member of the NATO, and that participation in the Partnership for Peace program was an optimal framework for cooperation, with particular emphasis on the cooperation of the Serbian Armed Forces and KFOR to implement UNSCR 1244 and the Military Technical Agreement.
In this regard, he pointed out that the formation of the so-called "Kosovo Armed Forces“ is absolutely unacceptable for Serbia. Resolution 1244 clearly states that KFOR is the only legitimate armed force in Kosovo and Metohija, and there can be no exception. KFOR is the only guarantor of security in Kosovo and Metohija and Serbia strongly opposes the reduction of its members.
Practical cooperation between Serbia and NATO was assessed as good and diverse, given that the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces, together with partners from different parts of the NATO structure, carry out nearly 200 activities annually in 19 areas of cooperation.
In addition to representatives of the Ministry of Defence, lectures were given by the Acting Assistant Minister for Security Policy in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Branimir Filipović, and members of the Delegation of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Dragan Šormaz and Žarko Mićin.
