Serbia is interested in strengthening bilateral cooperation with Italy in the field of defence. This was underlined by Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Milos Vucevic, in his conversation held yesterday in Belgrade with his Italian counterpart Guido Crosetto, on a visit to Serbia (and then Kosovo) with Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.
“There is a high potential for developing cooperation particularly in the fields of military industry and research and technological developmentVucevic said in a statement from the Serbian Defense Ministry.
Thanking for the contribution given by the Italian soldiers of the KFOR to the maintenance of peace and stability in Kosovo, and in particular in the protection of the Serbian population and of the Serbian Orthodox monastery of Visoki Decani, Vucevic also referred to the great professionalism of the Italian generals who restarts have alternated since 2013 at the helm of KFOR, the NATO force in Kosovo.
Satisfaction has also been expressed by Vucevic for the collaboration and common participation in international peace missions, in particular in UNIFIL in Lebanon.
Minister Crosetto, according to the Serbian press release, reaffirmed Italy’s full support for Serbia’s European integration process, underlining its “constructive role” in maintaining peace and stability in the Western Balkans. And with reference to the situation in Kosovo, Crosetto assured Italy’s support for the dialogue and his commitment to promoting a peaceful solution to the problems on the table.
“It was an important and historic meeting, it is the first in which the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defense participate jointly, signifying the particular attention that Italy pays to this area of Europe close to us and which needs greater cooperation with us. Today begins a process that must continue in the next few years and be implemented at 360 degrees” said Crosetto
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic (in the opening photo) also defined today’s visit to Belgrade by ministers Tajani and Crosetto as “extremely important” because “Serbia wishes to see a greater role of Italy in the region”. Once in Pristina, Minister Crosetto met his Kosovar counterpart Armend Mehaj, followed by meetings, also attended by Minister Tajani, with the President of the Republic of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, and with Prime Minister Albin Kurti.
“The Western Balkans are of great importance for Italy, also confirmed by the presence of Italian contingents in the KFOR mission over the past 20 years. The Italian government will pay much more attention to it in the coming months and years.” said Crosetto adding that “this part of Europe is too important to leave it alone in a moment of difficulty”.
The last stage of the mission was the meeting, at Camp Film City, with the Italian contingent engaged in KFOR, commanded by Division General Michele Ristuccia (in the photo below).
As for the crisis between Serbia and Kosovo, Crosetto declared that “we hope to be able to hold a meeting in Rome in the coming weeks to be able to define a path out of the crisis, which will lead to what they hope for, entry into the European Union”.
Photo Ministry of Defence
Serbia wants to strengthen cooperation with Italy in Defense – Defense Analysis