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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Kosovo recognition shakes region

Belgrade, 13 October 2008

Serbian Minister of Defence Dragan Sutanovac said that Montenegro and Macedonia’s recognition of Kosovo’s independence will not destabilise the region but will leave huge political consequences.

Dragan Sutanovac

Author: Fonet

In an interview for the FoNet news agency, Sutanovac said that the decision, which was obviously provoked by the influence of the Albanian population in these countries, can inflict great harm on Montenegro and Macedonia.

The Kosovo independence issue will have very strong political consequences because Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro rely on each other and Albanians and Serbs live in all three of them.

According to Sutanovac, the announcement that Montenegrin and Macedonian ambassadors are personae non gratae is an appropriate measure and Serbia should determine what the interest of these states was to recognise Kosovo 24 hours after the adoption of Serbia’s resolution at the UN.

The Minister said that overall safety situation is Serbia is pretty good, though certain risks exist in the south of the country.

As for the cooperation between the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Interior, Sutanovac said that it is satisfactory, as well as his relation with Minister of Interior Ivica Dacic.

Speaking about cooperation with the Hague tribunal, he stressed that the action team is actively working on it and meets on a daily basis.

I am trying to respect the demands of agencies within the Ministry of Defence, enable them to perform their job properly, in line with the law, said Sutanovac and added that the Military Intelligence Agency and the Military Security Agency are doing their work according to the law.

As for the introduction of professional army, which should be completed by end-2010, Sutanovac said that the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Army are mostly ready for it, as well as that there are budget funds for this purpose.