site.btaForum in Belgrade Discusses Military Neutrality, Relations between Serbia and NATO

A conference on the concept of military neutrality and Serbia's relations with NATO was held in Belgrade on Monday. The event was organized by the Bulgarian Embassy in Belgrade in its role as NATO's contact embassy, as reported by the Embassy's Facebook page.

Panellists at the conference included the State Secretary at Serbia's Ministry of Defence, Nemanja Starovic, Sweden, Finland and Austria's Ambassadors to Serbia, as well as Switzerland's Deputy Ambassador. Brigadier General Giampiero Romano, Chief of the NATO Military Liaison Office in Belgrade made an opening speech. The discussion was moderated by Bulgaria's Ambassador to Serbia, Petko Doykov.

Doykov noted that the new geopolitical environment in Europe poses the need for a robust response to the challenges facing peace and stability in Europe. In this regard, the aim of the conference is to be a platform for exchanging views on the state of relations between NATO and Serbia, focusing on the concept of military neutrality in Europe.

Romano said that the partnership between Serbia and NATO is developing with each year.

Beta News Agency quoted Romano as saying that to NATO, Serbia is an accessible and respected partner. He added that Serbia and NATO are much closer than it seems at first sight.

Romano said that NATO had nothing to do with the sale of Javelin anti-tank missiles to Kosovo. The United States Department of State approved the sale of such missiles and equipment to Kosovo worth about USD 75 million earlier in January.

The general pointed out that while individual countries have the right to sell weapons, KFOR is sticking to its mandate based on resolution 1244, and it maintains impartiality in its actions.

Starovic said that Serbia's military neutrality was based on the Parliament's decision to adopt the resolution on the protection of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and constitutional order of the Republic of Serbia in December 2007, Tanjug said.

Starovic said: "The commitment to military neutrality is a political decision, which expresses the position that the country is not interested in joining existing military alliances, but also that it will continue to develop foreign policy relations." He specified that Serbia conducts its security and defence policy independently, seeking to contribute to peace by resolving all disputes by political means, without the use of force.

Sweden's Ambassador to Serbia and Montenegro, Annika Ben David, pointed out that after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Sweden realized that military neutrality was unjustified and dangerous, which resulted in a rapid shift in the opinion of both the country's Parliament and their people.

Sweden and Finland decided to apply for NATO membership after the start of the war in February 2022. Finland joined the Alliance in April, but Sweden is still awaiting ratification from Turkiye and Hungary to become an official member.