27.01.2016.

General Dikovic spoke with Deputy Chairman of the NATO Military Committee

Chief of General Staff General Ljubisa Dikovic met today in Belgrade with the Deputy Chairman of the NATO Military Committee Lieutenant-General Mark Schissler.

Generals Dikovic and Schissler discussed the current political and security situation in the region and the world, and the cooperation of the Republic of Serbia with NATO, and the guest from Brussels was introduced with the participation of the Serbian Armed Forces in multinational operations of the United Nations and the European Union and the directions of further development of the Serbian Armed Forces.

Cooperation of the Republic of Serbia and NATO is taking place within the membership of our country in the Partnership for Peace Programme an

d direct cooperation between the Serbian Armed Forces and KFOR.

The officials agreed that the concrete result of good cooperation between Serbia and NATO is the signing of the Agreement on interimoperational procedures which defines regulations regarding the Air Security Zone after its complete relaxation.

General Dikovic pointed out that the cooperation of the Serbian Armed Forces and KFOR is fair and professional, which is best illustrated by the fact that there's been more than 6 thousand joint activities since the entry into force of the Military Technical Agreement, and that the meetings of representatives of the SAF and KFOR, where they exchange information on the current security situation in the territory of Kosovo and Metohija and along the administrative line and discuss measures to improve the efficiency of

implementation of joint activities, are regularly held. Chief of General Staff said that the common task of the Serbian Armed Forces and KFOR is maintaining security in the areas of responsibility on both sides of the administrative line, and that so far there have been no cases of violation of the agreements. General Dikovic stressed that the international factor has a crucial influence on the political situation in Kosovo and Metohija, and therefore has a great responsibility for the safety of all people in Kosovo and Metohija, especially the Serbs and other non-Albanians. He added that, for the security situation in Kosovo and Metohija, KFOR is the key factor, whose competence and responsibility arise from the Resolution 1244 of the UN Security Council and the Military Technical Agreement.

At the meeting, they stressed that in the new cycle of the engagement of the Republic of Serbia in the Operational Capabilities Concept an engineering company has been declared, and that all units of the Serbian Armed Forces declared in the first round of engagement in this concept have been rated as combat ready and trained to carry out tasks in the area of multinational operations under the mandate of the UN and the EU.

During his visit to the Republic of Serbia, General Schissler will speak with State Secretary Zoran Djordjevic and visit the Special Brigade of the Serbian Armed Forces.