Vucic and Stoltenberg had "productive meeting"

Vucic and Stoltenberg had "productive meeting"

Ildem noted that the 5th Belgrade NATO Week coincides with the very important event that took place yesterday in Brussels, stressing that he is "very happy when he reads reports from such meetings, that state there is an exceptional understanding and respect, which is the basis of the friendship between Serbia and NATO."

"Yesterday's meeting of the North Atlantic Council precisely testifies to this important fact, the important part of our relations. NATO and Serbia are close partners, we have developed our partnership and are strengthening our partnership through the military neutrality of Serbia," Ildem said at the gathering.

According to Tanjug, he "stressed that there is no contradiction between military neutrality and a strong strong partnership with NATO - NATO has many partners who are neutral and at the same time has strong cooperation and partnership with them."

"NATO and Serbia are facing the same security challenges, and cooperation with NATO can bring great benefits to Serbia and the region," he said.

"Our partnership makes Serbia safer, more secure, but I would like to emphasize that our cooperation also contributes to the security of North Atlantic allies," Ildem said.

He recalled that Serbia joined the Partnership for Peace program in 2006 and that since then, this cooperation made much progress.

"Every year we have about a hundred (partner) activities. We are working with Serbia to reform security forces and institutions in the country, we are training Serbian officers so that they can participate in operations more safely," he said.