05.05.2020.

Minister Vulin: A big thank you to Russian friends for helping us fight coronavirus

Today, the Minister of Defence Aleksandar Vulin, accompanied by the Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces, Major General Petar Cvetković, met at the “Hilton” Hotel with the Deputy Mayor of the City of Belgrade Goran Vesić and Major General Mikhail Chernyshov, the Head of the Delegation of the Russian Armed Forces’ Expert Teams who are helping Serbia in the prevention of the spread of coronavirus and its suppression.

After the meeting, Minister Vulin said that during their stay in Serbia, members of the Russian Armed Forces’ NBC units, as well as doctors, have shown how friends, soldiers and professionals act.

- These people have shown how much they know, how much they can do, but above all, how hard-working and dedicated they are to their work. They went to the places where it was the hardest, the places where there was a possibility of infection, where it was necessary to fight this virus - said Minister Vulin.

Minister Vulin expressed his heartfelt gratitude to all the members of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation who came to assist Serbia in the fight against coronavirus, especially bearing in mind that they came to Serbia at a time when the Russian Federation was also facing the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic.

- Their country is also fighting a hard and persistent battle with the coronavirus, and they are here not only because they obey the order, as soldiers do, but because they sincerely wanted it, because they genuinely love the people they are helping. I am sorry that some other countries in the region did not view it in the same way - said Minister Vulin.

Major General Mikhail Chernyshov said that he was delighted with the reception and a good cooperation that the members of the Russian Armed Forces encountered during their stay in Serbia. He especially thanked the Minister of Defence Vulin and the Deputy Mayor of the City of Belgrade for their efforts to assist them in their work.

- We have tried to do everything we could to defeat the coronavirus together, regardless of the fact that the situation with that virus is currently very difficult in the Russian Federation, as well. This is the help of a true friend, who does not assess whose problem is bigger - said General Chernyshov.

The Deputy Mayor of the City of Belgrade, Goran Vesić, emphasized that the assistance of the Russian Federation is another proof of the eternal and great friendship of the Serbian and Russian people, who have never been on opposite sides throughout history.

- It is a great relief for a small people, such as the Serbs, to know that they can always count on the help of their big brothers, their friends, and the fact that Russia will always be with us.

Vesić also thanked Minister Vulin saying that the devoted members of the Serbian Armed Forces made a huge contribution to the implementation of measures to fight coronavirus, and because of their help, the measures can now be relaxed.

According to him, the owners of the “Hilton” Hotel have given an example of solidarity in a crisis situation, providing 87 members of the Russian Armed Forces with a completely free stay, wanting to contribute in this way to the overall fight of our country against Covid-19.

As a sign of gratitude for the assistance they provided to the City of Belgrade and hoping that their time spent in the Serbian capital will encourage them to visit Serbia again, Deputy Mayor Vesić, presented each member of the Russian delegation with a symbolic sign of friendship, a copy of Dušan Babac's book “Serbia and Russia in the Great War,” written in Serbian and Russian.

Today's meeting at the “Hilton” Hotel was attended by the Acting Assistant Minister for Defence Policy, Milan Ranković and the Chief of the MMA’s Crisis Staff and the Deputy Head of the Military Medical Academy, Brigadier General Prof. Dragan Dinčić.