http://bsanna-news.ukrinform.ua/newsitem.php?id=11788&lang=en
Tanjug News Agency
December 30, 2009
Serbian Minister of Defense: Serbia to be in NATO, even if not member
BELGRADE: Serbian Minister of Defense Dragan Sutanovac has said that Serbia
will be in the scope of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) even if
it does not become a member of the alliance, like Austria, and added that the
applying for the membership itself is not the issue at this moment.
“Serbia will be in NATO, even if it does not become its member, such as, for
example, Austria,” Sutanovac said in an interview for the Belgrade magazine
Ekonomist when asked if it is possible that Serbia remains neutral given the
fact that it is surrounded by countries which have already or are about to join
NATO.
“This debate is sure to be opened in 2010, and we will have to organize talks
on introducing Serbia into European integration which implies the European
system of values comprising a Euro-Atlantic security policy,” the minister of
defense assessed.
“We want our system of defense to be organized in accordance with the world's
best standards, and the best one at this moment is the NATO standard,” he
stressed.
Sutanovac underscored that Serbia should take a number of steps related to the
Partnership for Peace, and that there is no plan to apply for NATO membership
at this moment.
Speaking of professionalization of the army which should be performed by the
end of 2010, he underlined that he hopes that the plan for professionalization
will be fulfilled on time.
Sutanovac pointed out that Serbia's system of defense in the whole will have
36,000 employees, 114 of whom will be state officials.
The minister added that the plan is to have 10,600 work places for professional
soldiers and 2,000 places for those who will serve the army voluntarily.
/
Serbian News Network - SNN
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http://www.antic.org/
