07.12.2016.
Minister of Defence meets Italian Chief of Defence Staff
Defence Minister Zoran Djordjevic met with General Claudio Graziano, Chief of Defence Staff of the Italian Armed Forces. The meeting was attended by Chief of General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces General Ljubisa Diković and the Italian Ambassador in Belgrade Giuseppe Manzo.During the discussion, it was noted that the defence cooperation follows the overall bilateral relations, which are stable and traditionally friendly and Minister Djordjevic pointed out that the crown of cooperation is current joint participation in multinational operations.
- I would like to specially highlight the joint involvement in the UN mission in Lebanon. The positive experience, gained trust and strong relationships in the field are an excellent basis for consideration of the possibility of even more significant joint involvement.
An intensive political dialogue and frequent meetings at a high level, as well as the summits of the governments of Serbia and Italy have allowed a stable basis for improving relations between the two countries in all fields. It is particularly important that Serbia recognizes Italy as one of the main pillars of security and stability in the Western Balkans, the defence minister said and thanked for confirmation that in the coming period there will be no downsizing of the Italian Armed Forces members within the KFOR.
At the meeting, they discussed about the security situation in the conditions of frequent terrorist attacks and the challenge of a huge influx of migrants and stressed the importance of cooperation between intelligence and security services.
