CSTO official visits Serbia, meets with PM, defense minister

CSTO official visits Serbia, meets with PM, defense minister

The meeting focused on exchange of information on participation in peacekeeping operations, the fight against terrorism and the fight against drug trafficking as a global threat, the Ministry of Defense said in a release.

It was said during the meeting that in an extremely complex foreign-political situation, the Republic of Serbia continues to develop bilateral partnership relations with the CSTO member-states, particularly with Russia, Belarus and Armenia.

It was stressed in particular that Serbia was pursuing an independent foreign policy, that it was committed to maintaining its military neutral status and that it only cooperated with NATO within the Partnership for Peace program, with no aspirations for full membership of the organization.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Chief of Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces (VS), Lt. Gen. Jovica Draganic, Russian Ambassador Aleksandr Chepurin and representatives of the Serbian Interior Ministry.

Earlier in the day, Nikolai Bordyuzha was received by Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic. According to the government website, they discussed "joint fight against terrorism and illegal migration."

They also spoke about "the issue of combating drug trafficking, as well as military-technical cooperation and cooperation in the field of joint participation in peacekeeping operations."

During the meeting the officials concluded that it was "necessary to improve bilateral cooperation that would contribute to the strengthening of relations between the Serbian government and the CSTO."

On Tuesday, Bordyuzha was received by Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic.