NATO: We did not change out stand - historical fact voiced

BRUSSELS - It is a historical fact that NATO did not have the approval of the UN Security Council (UNSC) to bomb Serbia but the action was carried out in keeping with international law, Tanjug learnt in the NATO seat in Brussels.

The lack of UNSC permission for bombing Serbia is a historical fact, a NATO official who wished to remain anonymous told Tanjug and added that this was nevertheless a legitimate operation.

The air campaign which aimed to protect civilians (in Kosovo-Metohija) was fully in keeping with international law although no UN resolution was adopted to provide an official permission for it, the official said.

On April 11, NATO replied to the release issued by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs which stated that the bombing of Serbia constitutes a violation of international law, and the Alliance for the first time openly admitted that the bombing of Serbia in 1999 was carried out without the UNSC permission.

Up until now, this circumstance was mostly kept under wraps in NATO official releases.

NATO has not changed its stand, it simply voiced a long-known fact, Tanjug's correspondent learnt in the NATO seat in Brussels.

The decision to attack the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) was the first in history to be made without the UNSC approval.

The attack was prepared under the false excuse that genocide in Kosovo-Metohija has to be prevented and the campaign was carried out with the excuse that a humanitarian catastrophe has to be deterred which in fact only occurred after the NATO bombing began on March 24, 1999.

Around 2,500 people were killed and 12,000 more were wounded during the 78-day air campaign. There were 1,500 civilian casualties, including 89...