Defense chief on compulsory service, Kosovo

Defense Minister Dragan Sutanovac says regular army service will be abolished and professionalization of the Serbian Army will be completed next year. “I believe that this time next year, the president (of Serbia) will be in a position to suspend the regular army service based on a report that we will submit,” Sutanovac said in an interview for Belgrade daly Blic. Defense chief on compulsory service, Kosovo He underscored that he may promise he will, together with his team do everything to complete the process of professionalization of the army, adding that the process of hiring professionals requires certain period of time. “We wasted the years 2005, 2006 and a part of 2007. I believe that with an adequate media, government and local self-government support we will finally be able to complete the work. When I say finally, I imply abolishment of the regular army service and army professionalization,” underscored Sutanovac. Sutanovac also commented on the situation in Kosovo, saying that “any imposed strategy for the north of Kosovo is unwelcome”. “Every strategy that does not include cooperation of the non-Albanian population and forcefully imposes a solution for the municipalities where Serbs make up the majority of the population is unwelcome. The Serbian president has warned of that at the United Nations,” Sutanovac said. “We are carefully following the developments in the north, and I believe that we will overcome the problem in a diplomatic way,” said he. Commenting on arguments that joining NATO would be a step backwards in the fight for Kosovo, in view of the cooperation with Russia, Sutanovac said that “we must not do anything that would harm our fight for the preservation of the country's integrity, but NATO, as an organization, has not recognized Kosovo”.

Defense chief on compulsory service, Kosovo

He underscored that he may promise he will, together with his team do everything to complete the process of professionalization of the army, adding that the process of hiring professionals requires certain period of time.

“We wasted the years 2005, 2006 and a part of 2007. I believe that with an adequate media, government and local self-government support we will finally be able to complete the work. When I say finally, I imply abolishment of the regular army service and army professionalization,” underscored Šutanovac.

Šutanovac also commented on the situation in Kosovo, saying that “any imposed strategy for the north of Kosovo is unwelcome”.

“Every strategy that does not include cooperation of the non-Albanian population and forcefully imposes a solution for the municipalities where Serbs make up the majority of the population is unwelcome. The Serbian president has warned of that at the United Nations,” Šutanovac said.

“We are carefully following the developments in the north, and I believe that we will overcome the problem in a diplomatic way,” said he.

Commenting on arguments that joining NATO would be a step backwards in the fight for Kosovo, in view of the cooperation with Russia, Šutanovac said that “we must not do anything that would harm our fight for the preservation of the country's integrity, but NATO, as an organization, has not recognized Kosovo”.