Serbian Foreign Ministry: Putin could save Yugoslavia
If Russia had been led by Vladimir Putin in the 1990s, Moscow would not have allowed NATO to carry out the operation to dismember Yugoslavia. This was stated by Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic at the opening of the conference “Serbian-Russian relations in an era of major political changes”, which was held in Belgrade.
“Regarding the NATO aggression against the FRY, which occurred at the end of the 20th century, I can say that Russia showed solidarity with the Serbian people and strongly condemned this action, calling it an operation against a sovereign state. I am sure that there would have been no NATO aggression if Russia had been stronger then, and if Vladimir Putin had been at the head of the country at that time,” RTS quotes him as saying.
Assessing the current bilateral relations, the head of the Foreign Ministry said that they are at a historical maximum, Russia is supporting Serbia on the issue of the fate of Kosovo captured by Albanian separatists.
“I’m not saying that Serbia needs Russia’s protection now. Our country must independently strengthen its security. But it’s good that we can count on someone like Russia,” Dacic was quoted as saying. agency "New Day".
According to the minister, it will be a “special honor” for Serbia to host the visit of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev during the celebration of the 75th anniversary of liberation from the Nazis.
“Serbs and Russians fought on the same side in World War II, and we are very grateful to the Russian soldiers with whom we liberated our country. We will soon celebrate the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Belgrade, which took place on October 20, 1944. We will celebrate the anniversary together with our Russian friends and allies in the fight against fascism, and we are especially honored by the visit of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to the celebration,” Dacic said.
He recalled that the history of Russian-Serbian relations is not limited only to the Second World War. During the Ottoman yoke, Serbs settled in Russia. Serbian generals served in the Russian army - such as Mikhail Miloradovich, Jovan Ševich, Simeon Gavrilovich Zorich, etc.
“Most of them took part in the Patriotic War of 1812 and the Battle of Borodino,” the minister said.
“Russia played a big role in the early 19th. century in the process of liberation from Turkish rule and the restoration of the Serbian state. She helped consolidate the results of the first and second Serbian uprisings...
During the liberation wars of 1876-78, the Russian state helped the Serbian people militarily and financially. And many of the Russian volunteers, led by General Mikhail Charnyaev, also dedicated their lives to the new Serbian freedom, including the famous Colonel Nikolai Nikolaevich Raevsky,” Dacic noted.
“In the 20th century, during two World Wars, mutual support and struggle on the same side, associated with enormous human and material losses, further strengthened the ties between the Serbian and Russian peoples. I would also recall the great solidarity and sincere and fraternal support shown by Imperial Russia led by Nikolai Romanov at the beginning of the 20th century. He resolutely stood up for the Serbian people in one of the most difficult moments in history - at the moment when Austria-Hungary attacked Serbia in 1914, and when Russia entered the war. The decisive request of the Russian Tsar Nicholas Romanov to the allies that, after the retreat through Albania, the Serbian army be delivered to Greece, contributed to the rescue of a large number of exhausted and wounded Serbian soldiers,” the Foreign Minister continued.
“After the October Revolution of 1917 and the tragic events of the Civil War, Serbia received tens of thousands of Russian emigrants who made a significant contribution to the development of the Serbian economy, science, culture and art. A special place is occupied by the famous architect Nikolai Petrovich Krasnov, whose one of the most important works is the building that today houses the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia. We must not forget either Bishop Anthony Khrapovitsky, or the Byzantine Georgiy Ostrogorsky, or the ballerina Nina Kirsanova,” Dacic emphasized.
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