13.05.2020.
Minister Shoygu: Thanks to the friendship between Presidents Vučić and Putin, assistance arrived quickly
Today, the Minister of Defence, Aleksandar Vulin, had a telephone conversation with the Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation, General of the Army Sergey Shoygu, and thanked him for the engagement of the Russian expert team that provided significant assistance to Serbia in fighting and stopping the coronavirus epidemic.
In the telephone conversation, Minister Vulin expressed tremendous satisfaction with the superhuman effort of the Russian team in the fight against the COVID-19 epidemic, which showed the solidarity of the two nations, like countless times before throughout history, when they were attacked by an enemy. Due to the sacrifice in the fight against the pandemic, the Russian team was awarded the highest decorations of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Serbia for exceptional contribution to the defence system of the Republic of Serbia, which was marked by an award ceremony held on 9th May, during the joint celebration of Victory Day.
After this fight ends, members of the two armed forces will continue cooperation in the field of defence, especially in the field of military exercises and military-technical cooperation. The minister accepted the invitation to participate in the Joint Meeting of Defence Ministers of the member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Collective Security Treaty Organization in Moscow.
Minister Shoygu said that thanks to the excellent relations between the two presidents and the supreme commanders of the armed forces of the Republic of Serbia and the Russian Federation, Aleksandar Vučić and Vladimir Putin, the assistance was fast, efficient and timely. He thanked for the decorations awarded to the members of the Russian team and expressed satisfaction and pride that we were together on Victory Day. At the suggestion of Minister Shoygu, it was agreed to hold a video conference for the purpose of cooperation between the military medical services and the exchange of joint experiences in the fight against the coronavirus.
Both Serbia and Russia are determined to continue cooperation in the field of defence, which will contribute to strengthening the defence capacities of the two countries. In accordance with that, Minister Shoygu again extended invitation for the participation of the members of our military in the International Military Games 2020, the "Army 2020" forum and the Military Parade, which was gladly accepted.
