NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg assessed that the North Atlantic Alliance is a long-term and close partner with Serbia, saying that the partnership is based on political
dialogue and practical cooperation, with full respect for Serbia’s state policy of military neutrality.
“Our political dialogue is manifested in different ways. It includes my contacts with President Aleksandar Vučić and other political leaders, and regular interactions with Serbian colleagues who have my Deputy Assistant for Political Affairs and Security Policy and the Head of the NATO Military Liaison Office in Belgrade. It also includes the well-established relations between the KFOR commander and the Serbian Chief of General Staff,” Stoltenberg told Podgorica’s Vijesti.
He says that such relations enable a constructive spirit and mutual respect “that should continue”.
When it comes to Kosovo and Metohija, Stoltenberg said that he “recently spoke with the political leadership in Pristina and Belgrade about the tensions in the north of Kosovo.”
“All parties must remain calm, avoid unilateral actions and constructively engage in dialogue, with the mediation of the European Union. In accordance with its UN mandate, the KFOR mission closely monitors the situation and is ready to intervene if stability is threatened”, Stoltenberg said and emphasized that NATO will continue to fully support the dialogue, with the mediation of the EU.
Referring to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Stoltenberg said that BiH “has come a long way since the conflicts of the 1990s, but, unfortunately, tensions remain high, with rhetoric that contributes to divisions, suspended reforms and foreign actors working to undermine its progress.”