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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Humanitarian centre in Nis logistical base for rescue operations in region

Belgrade, 22 October 2009

First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Ivica Dacic said today that the Agreement on cooperation in the fields of humanitarian reaction in emergency situations, natural disasters and technogenic accidents and the removal of their consequences envisages the setting up of a joint humanitarian centre as a logistical base for rescue operations in Serbia and in the region.

Author: politika.rs

Dacic said in an interview with today's edition of the daily Politika that the activities of the centre will include extinguishing fires and clearing up the aftermath of floods, earthquakes, technological and chemical accidents, acts of terrorism and land demining.

The official website brings excerpts from this interview.

Who will be engaged in that centre?

This centre will deal with humanitarian activities. This is a completely non-military form of cooperation. The agreement stipulates this to be a joint centre in which resources from the Department for Emergency Situations of the Serbian Ministry of Interior and the Russian Ministry for Emergency Situations would take part.

Activities and the legal status of the centre will be regulated in a separate agreement at a next session of the Intergovernmental Committee. Also, the centre will work absolutely in accordance with EU standards, because Russia already cooperates in this area with the EU.

Why was Nis chosen for a humanitarian centre?

It has a good geographical position, adequate infrastructure, an international airport, so can operate as a logistical base for the whole region.

Its name will be regulated by a separate agreement and will depend on how many countries participate. By February we will talk with other countries in the region, including Greece, Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Romania, so the centre could become a Balkan or Southeast European centre for emergencies.

On the visit of President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev:

We can say that this visit had historical significance. This is proof not only of friendly relations, but also a political partnership that certainly means a lot for Serbia at the international level, because Serbia's position when it comes to Kosovo-Metohija is significantly different with the principled support of the Russian Federation.

Did representatives of the Russian security services have any objections during Medvedev’s visit to Belgrade?

There were no objections, probably because of our experience during the visit of US Vice President Joseph Biden, and bearing in mind the events of the previous month. The level of security may have been even higher than was necessary and I thank all citizens for their understanding and congratulate all members of the police and other security forces for having done their jobs very well.

On the international police action "Balkan Warrior":

Each structure has its own security profile, which is coordinated by the National Security Council. Police arrested all persons according to the order from the special prosecutor and there is full cooperation between our security services and police in all segments. Recently there has been a change in the route of illegal drug trafficking. For cocaine the route is now usually from Latin America to Western Europe. Also, many criminal groups from the former Yugoslavia were involved in this trade, which is primarily intended for the market in Western Europe. This action is of great importance and shows that only by successful cooperation between all structures can we successfully fight against organised crime. This great success surely contributes to raising the reputation of our security structure and the whole of our country.