Serbia's engagement in peacekeeping missions highly praised

BELGRADE - UN officials spoke in high terms of Serbia's participation in international peacekeeping missions, said Vladimir Bozovic, state secretary at the Serbian Ministry of the Interior (MUP), who had recently visited the U.S.

In a statement to Tanjug, Bozovic said on Friday that UN officials noted that Serbian military and police peacekeepers in international missions are highly professional.

During the talks, they addressed a new strategic framework for UN missions in which Serbia wants to take an active part, he said.

Bozovic conferred with Trond Egil With, police adviser with the Permanent Mission of Norway to the UN, about the model of Serbia's participation in peacekeeping missions, and underscored that the Serbian Interior Ministry can offer highly qualified staff, but that due to budgetary constraints, it seeks assistance from Norway as a partner.

With voiced the country's willingness to consider such a model.

In talks with UN officials, Bozovic said that there should be no reduction in the number of UNMIK and EULEX troops as interim institutions in Kosovo-Metohija, prosecution and police are not ready to tackle the organized crime and corruption.

Bozovic also met William Elliott, special representative of Interpol to the UN, with whom he discussed the prospects for accepting Interpol documents and MUP initiative to recruit a seconded liaison officer.

In the meeting with Director of the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force (CTITF) Office Jehangir Khan, Bozovic presented the efforts that Serbia has so far invested in the fight against terrorism, stressing that Serbia and all relevant services are ready to contribute to the fight against terrorism within the UN.