Orderly Hungarian–Serbian Military Relations

On his official visit to Hungary, Dragan Šutanovac, the defence minister of Serbia and his delegation were received in Budapest with military honors by their host, Defence Minister Dr. Csaba Hende. The closed-door meeting of the two defence ministers was followed by a plenary session, and they also met the press.

At the press conference Csaba Hende said that during their meeting they had discussed Hungary’s EU presidency program for 2011, as well as the bilateral military relations and current security policy issues. He pointed out that relations between the two countries are characterized by openness and constructiveness, and that the Hungarian-Serbian military relations are orderly.

He emphasized that our country considers it a high priority to maintain bilateral military relations and expand their scope. By sharing our experience of the integration process, we are supporting Serbia’s efforts to join the European Union and strengthen her ties with NATO.

The Hungarian Defence Minister noted that since last autumn, Hungarian and Serbian troops have been serving together in the UN peacekeeping mission in Cyprus, and during 2011, several joint training exercises will be conducted in Hungary and Serbia.

Dragan Šutanovac first thanked Hungary for the support it has given to Serbia in the EU accession process to date.

Speaking about recent developments, he stressed that Serbia has proven its ability to complete the cooperation with the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in the Hague, and closed a difficult chapter in its history.

He referred to the close ongoing cooperation between the armed forces of the two countries, which involves seven Serbian troops serving with the UN peacekeeping mission in Cyprus together with their Hungarian comrades (one at the UNFICYP HQ, and a patrol team of six infantrymen as part of the Hungarian contingent).

“Based on the successful cooperation, Serbia is ready to extend its role in peacekeeping"  said the Serbian Defence Minister.

He went on saying that “We have also discussed how to expand the scope of the EU peacekeeping activities, with the result that an agreement was signed in Belgrade on May 26, while today we have agreed on the terms of our cooperation in 2011, and also considered opportunities for cooperation between military medical units and Special Forces, as well as other peacekeeping missions."

Answering some questions from the press, the Serbian Defence Minister said that his country intends to take part in further EU peacekeeping missions. One of these is ATALANTA, and the other is also related to Somalia but is based in Uganda, where Serbian troops would participate in the training and mentoring of law enforcement and military units. Dragan Šutanovac made it clear that both the Serbian government and the Ministry of Defence are fully supporting the processes of EU integration, and that reforms in Serbia are being implemented in line with European values.

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Photo: Mária Krasznai-Nehrebeczky