28.04.2016.

Djordjevic at the Moscow conference

The Minister of Defence of the Republic of Serbia Zoran Djordjevic participated today in the work of the 5th Moscow Conference on International Security where he had a presentation on "Global Security and Military Cooperation".

In his speech, Minister Djordjevic analyzed the causes and consequences of changing the architecture of global security and its impact on the increasing vulnerability of national states in relation to new transnational and multilateral security challenges.

- States will remain dominant actors in international relations, with the pronounced trend of growing influence of non-state actors, while the main political influence will remain with the Russian Federation, the United States, the leading EU member states and China, Djordjevic pointed out in his speech.

He assessed that the global scene is characterized by multipolarity and interdependence of its most important players, and that the regional and global security problems cannot be solved only from the position of power. Djordjevic added that today more than ever, there is a need to improve the international security system and coordinate activities at global level through trust, cooperation and negotiations.

- It is priority of the Republic of Serbia to improve bilateral military cooperation through joint exercises and training with all our foreign partners, strengthen regional cooperation and step up participation in multinational operations under the auspices of the UN and the EU, Djordjevic said.

Minister Djordjevic concluded that "the unchanging foreign policy orientation and

consistent adherence to the basic principles of international cooperation make the Republic of Serbia, a reliable and desirable partner in the field of military cooperation".

On the sidelines of the 5th Moscow conference he had separate bilateral meetings with the Ministers of Defence of the Republic of Belarus and the Republic of Armenia.

Minister Djordjevic and the Belarusian Minister Lieutenant-General Andrei Alekseyevich Ravkov agreed that there has been significant qualitative and quantitative progress in developing defence cooperation, especially after the recent visit of the Chief of General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces General Dikovic to Belarus.

Djordjevic discussed with the Armenian counterpart, Lieutenant General Oganyan Seyran Mushegovich, the promotion of cooperation, which should be completed by the end of 2016 with the signing of the Defence Cooperation Agreement which would create formal legal conditions for the development of future cooperation.

Djordjevic thanked Mushegovich for the participation and professionalism of the members of the Armenian Armed Forces in the framework of KFOR, in Kosovo and Metohija.

The 5th Moscow Conference on International Security, which is to conclude today, has brought together, in the past two days, a total of 52 military delegations with around 700 participants from 80 countries, including 19 defence ministers.