Russia–Serbia Partnership

Tadić, Medvedev meet in Belgrade

20 October 2009 | 09:55 -> 14:58 | Source: B92, Beta, Tanjug

BELGRADE -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is in Belgrade for a historic visit – the first by a Russian president to Serbia as a sovereign and independent country.


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Tadić, Medvedev meet in Belgrade
20 October 2009 | 09:55 -> 14:58 | Source: B92, Beta, Tanjug
BELGRADE -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is in Belgrade for a historic visit – the first by a Russian president to Serbia as a sovereign and independent country.

Medvedev and his delegation, that includes Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, arrived here at 11:00 CET.

The president's motorcade reached the Palace of Serbia in New Belgrade half an hour later, where he was welcomed with a military ceremony and by his host, Serbian President Boris Tadić.

As the two presidents emerged from their face-to-face talks, Tadić told reporters that relations between Serbia and Russia have been improving for years, and that there is mutual understanding in all the areas where the two states are active.

He expressed his gratitude to Medvedev for the principled and strong support that Serbia has received from Russia in the fight to defend its integrity in Kosovo.

Tadić told a joint new conference that his meeting with Medvedev in Belgrade this Tuesday was "exceptional".

The Serbian president stated that Russia is am essential factor of international policy, world economy and international security.

Tadić concluded that during the conversation today, he reiterated his position that the global economic crisis also represents a security challenge, and that a new economic and security architecture of Europe and the world is needed.

The Russian president also addressed reporters to say that Moscow will defend Serbia's sovereignty "in its entirety, when it comes to Kosovo".

Medvedev described his talks with Tadić as "excellent", and said that while relations between the two countries are developing, new projects will create and even closer bond between them.

"We are on the right path now and these projects are showing the historical bond between Serbia and Russia. NIS modernization, participation in the construction of South Stream, Banatski Dvor underground storage, all these are big projects that Europe's energy security depends on, something we've been working on actively," stated the Russian leader.

Medvedev also stressed that Russia supports Serbia's decision regarding EU integrations.

He noted that there is already large-scale exchange in the area of culture, and that "relations between the people of Serbia and Russia have lasted for centuries because we are spiritually close".

Earlier in the day, Medvedev was greeted at the airport by First Deputy PM Ivica Dačić and Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić. They, along with Prime Minister Mirko Cvetković, also arrived to the Palace of Serbia.

After their meeting, Medvedev and Tadić joined their delegations for the signing of a series of agreements.

Representatives of the government of Serbia and Russia signed five interstate agreements on cooperation.

An agreement on cooperation in the area of humanitarian response in emergency situations, prevention of technological accidents and removal of their consequences was signed by Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dačić and Russian Minister for Emergency Situations Sergei Shoigu.

Dačić, in his capacity of first deputy PM, and Russia's FM Sergei Lavrov signed an agreement on cooperation in the area of internal affairs.

Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić and his Russian counterpart Lavrov signed an agreement on cooperation in the areas of culture, science, sports and youth policy for the 2009-2011 period.

Serbian National Assembly President Slavica Đukić-Dejanović and Deputy Speaker of the Russian State Duma Aleksandr Babakov signed an agreement on parliamentary cooperation between the two countries.

State Secretary in the Serbian Ministry of Economy and Regional Development Vesna Arsić and Governor of the Kursk Region Aleskandr Mikhaylov signed a memorandum of cooperation between the administration of Russia's region of Kursk and the Serbian Ministry.

Srbijagas Director Dušan Bajatović and Gazprom CEO Aleksey Miller signed a contract on the South Stream pipeline and setting up of a joint-venture company for the Banatski Dvor gas storage facility.

Meanwhile, security had been raised to the highest level around the venue of the meeting.

6,000 police officers are on duty during Medvedev’s visit. The Russian president, who will be spending around eight hours in the capital, will also be addressing MPs in parliament today.

Serbian security will be at Medvedev’s beck and call from the moment he enters Serbian airspace until the moment he leaves.

Serbian police (MUP) and the security services (BIA) have formed a special committee made up of members of various agencies. Russian special forces arrived in Belgrade last week.

Medvedev and Tadić, together with Belgrade Mayor Dragan Đilas and representatives of World War II veterans, are also expected to lay wreaths at the Liberators’ Cemetery in Belgrade, before moving on to an official lunch.

At 16:00 CET, the Russian president is expected to address Serbian MPs, before attending a cocktail party for him, his delegation, as well as Serbian parliamentarians and officials at the National Parliament.

Some 570 journalists - 55 Russian, 40 from the region and abroad - are reporting from the visit today.

http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2009&mm=10&dd=20&nav_id=62457

Russian "emergency center" to be at Niš airport

29 October 2009

BELGRADE -- Russian Ambassador to Serbia Aleksandr Konuzin revealed on Wednesday the location of the emergency center set to be built in Niš, southern Serbia.

"Both Russian and Serb side are very interested in building such a center, that will be stationed at the Niš airport," said Konzin.

The town will be home to special emergency situations aviation fleet, "and necessary equipment and materials for action".

The Russian ambassador noted that several regional countries have already expressed their desire to participate in the work of the center – the establishment of which was agreed during the recent visit to Serbia by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

Konuzin mentioned Greece, Montenegro and Croatia in this context, "which suffer the most from wildfires during summer".

"We must unite forces in answering threats"

The initiative of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev regarding the drafting of a legally binding agreement on European security is a reflection of the need to unite forces in answering huge threats that Europe and the rest of the world are faced with, Russia's Konuzin commented on Thursday.

Reminding that the initiative had been launched last year and that Medvedev had raised the issue once again during his recent visit to Belgrade, the Russian ambassador said in an article published by the Belgrade weekly NIN that the idea was very important for Serbia, as the only country which was faced with the threat of being torn apart.

Pointing out that the current system of European security did not correspond to reality since it was created during the Cold War with the aim to prevent a conflict between NATO and the Warsaw Pact, Konuzin reminded that the attempts of the 1990s to modernize that field had proved fruitless.

Serbia, which is not part of any military alliance, should be interested in this proposal, Konuzin wrote, and reminded that the deadly wheels of war had rolled over the country on two occasions, in the two world wars.

"Furthermore, Serbia is the only country which after World War II was bombed by the members of one military alliance," the ambassador added.

Konuzin concluded "with satisfaction" that Russia's proposal was met with a positive reaction and that Serbian President Boris Tadić responded constructively to the stands which Medvedev presented during his visit last week.

http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2009&mm=10&dd=29&nav_id=62669

flamming_python wrote:I don't understand why Serbia wants to defend such atrocities anyway. It was perpetrated by the Bosnian Serbs and the criminals that led them.

That doesn't mean that there weren't criminals and atrocities on the other sides either; but that has nothing to do with recognizing Srebrenica as a mass-warcrime.

PapaDragon wrote:

flamming_python wrote:I don't understand why Serbia wants to defend such atrocities anyway. It was perpetrated by the Bosnian Serbs and the criminals that led them.

That doesn't mean that there weren't criminals and atrocities on the other sides either; but that has nothing to do with recognizing Srebrenica as a mass-warcrime.

Well, for starters, Serbia does not want to defend any atrocities.

Timeline of events and events themselves are highly dubious and only criteria for random corpse being labeled Srebrenica "victim" is if NGO says so. Thats it.

It was (if it did happen as Jihadists,  EU and USA claim) a vendetta caused by mass atrocities against civilian population in Serbian towns around Srebrenica.

Perpetrators were under full protection of UN troops and they used UN safe zone in Srebrenica as staging area for several  campaigns of terror against civilians, most infamous (but not largest) of which was so called Christmas Slaughter of 1993.

Jihadist commandeer in charge of the slaughters was Naser Oric. Just couple of weeks ago he was arrested in Switzerland. Serbia requested extradition so he could be tried for war crimes against Serb civilians.
This would have been seen here as major step towards justice. He was instead released by Swiss.

Purpose of this resolution is not to condemn war crimes but to facilitate removal of Serbian autonomy in Bosnia and lay groundwork for further destruction of Serbian country, people and nation as a whole.

Serbian side is labeled as criminals while massive crimes committed by other participants are ignored, whitewashed and swept under a carpet.

I could go on for 10 pages like this but instead I will ask you one thing:

Why did Russia object when they were accused by UN, USA and EU of invading Chechnya, intentionally murdering hostages in Nord Ost, oppressing it's own population, assassinating political dissidents abroad, robbing, imprisoning and murdering honest businessmen, Invading peaceful nation of Georgia, oppressing and exterminating homosexuals, suppressing democratic non-nazi movement in Ukraine, brutally invading and annexing Ukrainian territory of Crimea, starting civil war in Ukraine, invading Ukraine and carrying out numerous atrocities in Ukraine, etc, etc, etc...........???

I mean, you guys are totally guilty, USA, EU and, above all, CNN said so?

Serbian side is labeled as criminals while massive crimes committed by other participants are ignored, whitewashed and swept under a carpet.

flamming_python wrote:I don't know what happened in the Serbian towns around Srebrenica, for sure it can be viewed in context, but one crime cannot excuse another..........

flamming_python wrote:Srebrenica was a refugee ghetto for Muslim Bosnians; which was surrounded by Bosnian Serb forces and cut-off from supplies. The civilian population there was under extreme threat of bombardment, starvation and everything else....

flamming_python wrote:After a period of UN protection, it was eventually taken over by the Bosnian Serbs and people ran in all directions; many were intercepted and shot dead.

flamming_python wrote:Then it should be treated as a seperate crime to seek justice for.

flamming_python wrote:I doubt anyone can accomplish that, at least w/o restarting the war.
I don't doubt there are ulterior motives for this resolution but Serbia nontheless gains nothing from defending the perpetrators in this case.

flamming_python wrote:That's true, but still I think by any objective measure - the Bosniaks were the victims in this conflict; their country was divided like a roast Tukrey between Croatia and Serbia, ..................................

flamming_python wrote:............masses of people were forced from their homes, bombarded or put into camps......

flamming_python wrote:............ where they starved to death.

flamming_python wrote:Because most of what you listed is BS.............

flamming_python wrote:However we are not talking about Serbia, but about the Bosnian Serbs. Why should Serbia defend their brutal behaviour?

flamming_python wrote:Even Milosevic in private considered them cowards.

flamming_python wrote:I don't understand why Serbia wants to defend such atrocities anyway. It was perpetrated by the Bosnian Serbs and the criminals that led them.

That doesn't mean that there weren't criminals and atrocities on the other sides either; but that has nothing to do with recognizing Srebrenica as a mass-warcrime.

PapaDragon wrote:It was UN protected staging zone for jihadist war criminals

After years of slaughter ignored by UN and perpetrated by jihadist who operated from that  "refugee ghetto for Muslim Bosnians" (    ) vendetta was carried out against war criminals. "People" were fine, criminals were punished- you will notice that all corpses were adult males. There is a reason for that.

We gain a lot by getting to the truth and punishing all war criminals regardless of their nationality, religion, geopolitical sponsor or lack of one.

There was no such thing as "Bosnian country" until 1995 when it was proclaimed by USA. Nothing was divided, "Bosniaks" as you call them or more precisely Bosnian muslims were not victims, they were instigators of the genocidal religious and ethnic conflict that has roots in WW2.

And exiled and ethnically cleansed, predominantly Serbs. And where is justice for them? Or do they need to be of the right religion and ethnicity in order to be allowed to seek  justice?

flamming_python wrote:............ where they starved to death.

Urban legend. There were no starving campers in 90's wars, not even muslims were guilty of this. You need to lay off the CNN, Which ties into next item on the agenda:

And back to square one. We are not defending that behavior. More than one side committed crimes in Srebrenica. We are making a stand against whitewashing crimes and protecting the perpetrators regardless of ethnicity and religion.

I will give you same advice that I gave Monarchist because your behavior is identical ATM:
Do not tell people on the other end of the planet what to do and how to live their lives since you are not from here and do not know anything about what happened here decades ago.

flamming_python wrote:
But I think there are many other ways that Russia can help Serbia other than vetoing this resolution.

For starters, trying to lobby for recognition of others crimes against Serbs, and coming up with its own resolutions.
And also trying to move the ex-Yugoslav region towards reconcilliation;

Russia burning bridges with other Balkan nations would not help anything

PapaDragon wrote:

flamming_python wrote:
But I think there are many other ways that Russia can help Serbia other than vetoing this resolution.

For starters, trying to lobby for recognition of others crimes against Serbs, and coming up with its own resolutions.
And also trying to move the ex-Yugoslav region towards reconcilliation;

Russia burning bridges with other Balkan nations would not help anything

-Don't really see how

-Any resolution by Russia will be automatically vetoed by USA & Co

-I don't think that there are any bridges there to begin with (in other former YU republics that is....)


Think of it this way:

Serbia refused to impose sanctions on Russia. This would just be Russia returning the favour.