Serbia NATO's reliable partner - minister

Serbia NATO's reliable partner - minister

BELGRADE -- Serbia's attendance of the recent NATO summit "underlines the fact the country is assuming the position of a reliable and credible partner."

It also means Serbia is "clearly committed to adopting the highest standards in specific fields in cooperation with different countries," Serbian Defense Minister Bratislav Gašić said on Tuesday.

During a meeting with British Ambassador Denis Keefe, Gašić said that Serbia's attendance of the summit also confirms that it is developing a relationship of cooperation with Eastern as well as Western countries "without eroding the concept of military neutrality," the Serbian Defence Ministry said in a statement.

"It is our clear commitment to adopt the highest standards in specific fields in cooperation with different countries. The summit was an opportunity to acquaint ourselves with the current regional and global security issues, as well as with existing initiatives to improve interoperability between partnership countries and NATO, which is one of our objectives as regards the defense policy," Gašić said.

Congratulating the United Kingdom on the success of the summit, Gašić said that Serbia's participation in similar events in the coming period would be greatly beneficial to its defense system.

Gašić and Keefe also discussed bilateral military cooperation, the reform of the security system, public relations, English language studies and cooperation through the NATO Trust Fund - fields seen as vital to the development of bilateral relations.

Gašić invited British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon to visit Serbia in the coming period.