NATO opens Belgrade office

NATO opens Belgrade office

28 September 2006 12:47 Source: Beta

BELGRADE -- Zoran Stanković has announced the opening of a NATO office in Belgrade which will liaise with the Ministry of Defense.Defense Minister’s aide Snežana Marković-Samardžić said the office will also serve to assist transit arrangements for NATO troops passing through Serbian territory. According to her, the office will be opened by the end of October, while the suggestion is that it be located in the Ministry of Defense building.Defense Minister Zoran Stanković took part in the Southeastern Europe defense ministers’ conference in Tirana, when Serbia was admitted as observer to the Defense Cooperation Initiative. He believes this represents the first step toward the membership in NATO’s Partnership for Peace program and other Euro-Atlantic integrations. The Southeaster Europe Cooperation Initiative was established in 1996, with the intention to strengthen the cooperation with Italy and the U.S. in the defense sector.