08.05.2016.

Reception by the President of the Republic on the occasion of the Serbian Armed Forces Day and Victory Day

On the occasion of the Serbian Armed Forces Day and Victory Day, President of the Republic of Serbia Tomislav Nikolic hosted this evening a reception at the Presidency which was attended by Defence Minister Zoran Djordjevic, Chief of General Staff General Ljubisa Dikovic, members of their collegiums, as well as the most responsible senior officers of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces.

Congratulating to members of the defence system on the holiday, President Nikolic said he was very pleased with the way in which our military is led and how its members carry out their tasks, as well as with the cooperation of this institution with the citizens of Serbia.

- That trust has never been shaken, but we are passing through various temptations, in which several stable pillars remain in Serbia and one of them is, of course, the Serbian Armed Forces. I am very grateful to you for that, because during almost my entire mandate, even if I wanted to, I could not find anything to criticize you – President Nikolic said.

According to him, those present at tonight's reception can proudly emphasize that not only they belong to the defence system, but they also lead it, and are very responsible when it comes to those who are their subordinates, whom they take care of.

- Probably there are supreme commanders who cannot count how many soldiers and officers they have, and although Serbia is not such a big country, I do not believe that among them there can be found a prouder supreme commander, and that among his officers he can find people more honourable than you who wear the uniform of the Serbian Armed Forces – the President of the Republic pointed out and told to the members of the Serbian Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defence to continue working as before, always putting their duty, training and education of Serbian soldiers at the foreground, despite the existing problems.

In the spirit of military ceremonies, during this evening's reception, Minister Djordjevic presented President Nikolic with a replica of a Serbian soldier from the First World War, and General Dikovic presented President of the Republic with a replica of the cannon, which is, as he pointed out at this occasion, "heart and soul of each of our soldiers."