"Friendship with French forged in heroism"

"Friendship with French forged in heroism"

BELGRADE -- "The friendship between the Serbs and the French, forged in the heroism of World War I, has gone through various temptations," says Tomislav Nikolić.

"Attempts to provide different interpretations of facts from the two countries' common past must not be allowed to reopen the gap between them," the Serbian president was quoted as saying at a reception held at the French embassy in Belgrade.

The reception was organized to commemorate the centenary of the outbreak of World War I.

Nikolić thanked France for assistance provided to Serbia during the recent floods and, in particular, French President Francois Hollande for his personal efforts to organise a donor conference for rebuilding Serbia.

French Ambassador Francois-Xavier Deniau said that the conference, under preparation in collaboration with the EU, will be held in July.

"The friendship between the French and the Serbs was forged in heroism, by common wounds and by death," Nikolić said.

The two countries have bridged the gap that existed at the end of the last century, but we must not let the gap be reopened by different interpretations of historical facts from World War I, Nikolić said.

The donor conference to be organized by Hollande is a natural effort of friends for which Serbia will always be grateful, Nikolić said.

Deniau said that the conference provides a good illustration of the fact that the Serbian-French friendship is rooted in history, but that it is also reflected by the common future of an increasingly close alliance within the European family, Deniau said.

The reception was attended by many guests, including the ambassadors...