PM pens letter of gratitude to Russian Federation

PM pens letter of gratitude to Russian Federation

"To you, Mr. Prime Minister, I owe a personal debt of gratirude for enabling the help to reach those who most needed it," wrote Vučić in the letter that also conveyed "expressions of particular respect."

"I wish to in this way thank you most cordially for the help that the Russian Federation provided to Serbia in extremely difficult moments for my country. The rain that fell in just a few days last week caused floods of cataclysmic proportions. Much of central and western Serbia was submerged in water, we lost many lives, and enormous material damage was one. The homes of many citizens have either been destroyed and damaged, as well as roads and railroads, crops, while the number of livestock has been decimated," the Serbian prime minister wrote, and added:

"I am certain that the loss of life and the material damage would have been multiple times higher had there not been for the assistance of the brave members of special units of the Russian Federation, who, disregarding their own safety, rescued citizens and their property, helped defend against the flood, and gave an immeasurable contribution to our efforts to defend ourselves from this unprecedented natural disaster, and reduce the damage to a minimum."

Vučić singled out the bravery shown by one member of the Russian rescue team, who jumped into a river in Obrenovac to rescue several people whose boat had capsized. Meanwhile in Moscow, also on Friday, Serbian Defense Minister Bratislav Gašić took part in an international security conference, and conferred with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu.

He told Serbian reporters after the meeting that Russia's Defense Ministry would send technical equipment to be used in terrain decontamination after the flood waters recede, and that Shoigu also ordered generators, water pumps and other needed equipment to be sent to Serbia.

Gašić conveyed the gratitude of Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić for the work done by the Russian rescue team during the past week.

"I would like to express our profound gratitude, if it were not for the help of brotherly Russia, the consequences of the floods would certainly be much greater," Gašić also told Shoigu.

According to him, it was agreed during the meeting to continue the cooperation between the two countries when it comes to military and military education, and that "in June or in the fall" agreements would be concluded "that have been awaited for almost two years."

Gašić specified that this concerned a loan worth USD 1.4 billion that would be used to purchase MiG warplanes.

Shoigu expressed his regret over the loss of life, adding that he "learned about the bravery of the Serb people while he served as minister for emergency situations."

Gašić was the only defense minister from a European country who attended today's conference in Moscow, not counting those from the CIS states. Russia, as the organizer, did not invite NATO member-states.