European Union Ambassador Emanuele Giaufret told Defense Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic on Wednesday that the Union wants to step up security cooperation with Serbia in defense of international order.

A Defense Ministry press release quoted him as saying that there is room to promote cooperation and develop relations between EU member states and Serbia. Giaufret said that “Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked aggression against Ukraine undermines European and global security”. “The EU is up to the challenge and is counting on Serbia in the defense of peace and international order based on rules,” the press release quoted him as saying and added that he stressed the importance of regional stability and support for Serbia’s European integration as well as that of the other Western Balkan countries.
The press release said that they discussed regional security, international relations and cooperation on EU common security and defense policy.

Stefanovic said that regional cooperation is a condition for European integration and recalled that it is one of Serbia’s foreign policy priorities. According to him, Serbia is a responsilbe and credible partner that will remain a militarily neutral state open for cooperation and ready to build partnership relations with all states and international organizations.

The minister said that the Defense Ministry and Serbian military contribute to EU common security and defense policy by taking part in EU military and crisis management missions, the EU battle group concept, cooperation with the European Defense Agency and its projects.