NATO Joint Forces chief Admiral Burke in Belgrade

Outgoing Chief MLO Brigadier General Tomasso Vitale handed over to fellow Italian Brigadier General Antonelo Mesenio Zaniti on Thursday at the ceremony which was also attended by Serbian Defense Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic and Chief of Staff General Milan Mojsilovic who held a meeting with Admiral Burke after the ceremony to sign a document on a joint exercise by NATO and Serbian forces next year in Serbia.

A Defense Ministry press release said that Mojsilovic and Burke also discussed the security situation in the region and cooperation between the Serbian military and the Naples Joint Forces Command as well as joint training and exercises including cooperation with KFOR. “The security of the population in our southern province and the protection of Serbian national, cultural, historic and religious heritage falls to KFOR as the only legitimate armed force in Kosovo,” Mojsilovic is quoted as saying.

Speaking at the Ceremony, Admiral Burke said that the Alliance fully respects Serbia’s policy of military neutrality, adding that the country cooperates with NATO on many levels – political, military and scientific. He said that the Alliance is fully committed to stability, security and cooperation in the Western Balkans with NATO attaching strategic importance to Serbia for the stability of the region. “Serbia is an important NATO partner,” he said.