LOCAL PRESS 

Academy on occasion of the Day of Remembrance of victims of NATO aggression (RTS) 

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic attended on Wednesday night the ceremonial academy on the occasion of marking the Day of Remembrance of the victims of the NATO aggression in 1999. Due to the coronavirus epidemic, the marking in the Kombank Hall took place without the audience, and in the presence of Serbian parliament speaker Ivica Dacic, the Chairman of the B&H Presidency Milorad Dodik, Serbian Patriarch Porfirije and members of the Serbian government. On that occasion, Vucic said that during the spring of 1999, crime, aggression, attack on a sovereign country took place, without a decision of the United Nations, for which no one was ever responsible, and that is impossible to explain today, 22 years later. He reiterated that no one had ever been held accountable for the 2,500 civilians killed, but also for the soldiers and police officers, who were guilty only of guarding themselves and their homes, for more than 6,000 wounded. According to him, those deaths were not tragic for those who sowed them, much less a mistake, but an excuse, an intention, a clear decision, through a court over a country, over its people and children. On this day, on 24 March 1999, the NATO aggression on the then FR Yugoslavia began, in which between 1,500 and 3,500 people were killed and more than 12,000 were injured during the uninterrupted 78 days of air attacks. In 11 weeks of daily air strikes, NATO carried out 2,300 strikes and dropped 22,000 tons of missiles, including 37,000 banned cluster bombs and bombs filled with enriched uranium. During the intervention, the infrastructure, business facilities, schools, health institutions, media houses, cultural monuments, churches and monasteries were severely damaged.

Vucic: Crime bigger than all crimes happened in spring of 1999 (Tanjug) 

In the spring of 1999, a crime took place, an aggression, an attack on a sovereign country without a UN decision, and no one has ever been held accountable for it, which is impossible to explain even today, 22 years on, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said late on Wednesday at a ceremony commemorating the anniversary of the start of the NATO aggression on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Today, we will not be bargaining about naming everything that happened during the spring of 1999, he said. “Because a crime happened. And an aggression happened – not a bombing, not a campaign, an intervention or an operation,” he said. No one has been held accountable for that crime – a crime bigger than all crimes, he said. No one has been held accountable for the 2,500 murdered civilians as well as soldiers and police officers who were only guilty of protecting themselves and their ancestral homes, or for the more than 6,000 wounded, he noted. “Even today, 22 years after the aggression, it is impossible to explain that. Despite all the effort, there is no universal justification, there is no reason or sense, and only names have remained, as an eternal sin,” said Vucic, who went on to read aloud the names of 89 children of various ethnicities killed by NATO in the aggression. The then Yugoslavia did not attack any neighboring or NATO country and thus provided no sufficient reason for the attack, which was an attack on a sovereign country, without a UN decision, he said. “We did not attack anyone then. They attacked us, with the clear goal of defeating us, killing us and, ultimately, taking a part of our territory away from us,” Vucic said.

Vucic meets with UN’s Yamashita (Tanjug/Politika/Novosti) 

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Wednesday received Mari Yamashita, the newly-appointed Representative of the UN Secretary General and Head of the UN Office in Belgrade, who informed him that a UN Security Council session on the secretary general’s report on the work of the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) would be held in mid-April. Serbia considers the UN to be an international organization of the highest significance, in particular for the protection of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country, Vucic noted. He also said the work of the UN Office was very significant considering that it provided a link to UNMIK, and expressed the hope the good cooperation would be continued, the presidential press office said in a statement. Vucic noted that Serbia attached great significance to the work of UNMIK considering that, under UN SC Resolution 1244, it was a guarantor of the status neutrality of international presence in Kosovo and Metohija. He expressed the expectation the scope of UNMIK’s engagement would remain unreduced and its mandate unchanged. Vucic said Serbia was committed to ensuring peace and stability in the region and was ready for dialogue and compromise as the only way to solve open issues, including the issue of Kosovo and Metohija.

Petkovic: Kurti announced end to dialogue, inadmissible for negotiations to be based on Pristina’s ultimatums (RTS/RTV/Tanjug) 

The Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Petar Petkovic says that with the latest message that the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina must be based on four ultimatums to Serbia, Albin Kurti “bestially announced the end of the dialogue and annulled everything that was agreed at the negotiating table in Brussels for the last eight years”. Petkovic stated that “Kurti’s threats that the condition for the resumption of the dialogue is for Belgrade to recognize so-called Kosovo, to recognize alleged crimes in Kosovo and Metohija, directly destroy and annul any future of dialogue and finding compromises, especially in Kurti’s position that it will not allow the formation of the Community of Serb Municipalities (ZSO), which is the most important obligation of Pristina from the Brussels Agreement,” stated the Office for Kosovo and Metohija. In this way, Petkovic points out, Kurti has shown that he is absolutely not interested in negotiations that would lead to finding a lasting and sustainable solution in this region, along with mutual efforts towards building peace and coexistence. “Instead, Kurti directly destroys peace and stability in the region and turns the Western Balkans into smoldering powder kegs,” Petkovic said. He notes that the talks in Brussels are based on principles of mutual building of trust and normalization of relations, and Serbia participates in them in the best will. “Belgrade has so far fulfilled all its obligations from the dialogue and expects the same attitude from the other side. It is inadmissible for negotiations to be based on Pristina’s ultimatums, imposed and unilateral solutions that Brussels is squinting at, because such negotiations lead nowhere,” stressed Petkovic. Therefore, he adds, he expects an urgent, sharp and unequivocal reaction from Brussels to “such anti-Serb actions and collapse of the dialogue, and a clear message whether the EU sees the dialogue as blackmail and an ultimatum from Pristina’s side”.

Djuric: Kurti announced end to Belgrade-Pristina dialogue (Tanjug/RTV)

Serbian Ambassador to the US and former head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric has stated that the new Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti has announced the end to the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue with the statement that he doesn’t wish to discuss the formation of the ZSO. Djuric wrote that Kurti’s words represent a warning that at the helm of the government in Pristina is a man who is an opponent of reconciliation and a threat to peace and stability. He reminded that the formation of the ZSO was a signed and assumed and internationally guaranteed obligation of Pristina. “By announcing that he does not even want to discuss the implementation of the agreement, he has shown that he does not respect the efforts to resolve open issues through dialogue and by peaceful means,” said Djuric.

Dacic: I don’t know when inter-party dialogue will begin (TV Pink/Beta) 

Serbian parliament speaker Ivica Dacic said on Wednesday he was ready for the resumption of dialogue with the opposition under the European Parliament (EP) auspices, but he did not know when that would happen. He told TV Pink he called on opposition political parties earlier this month to continue the dialogue under the Serbian parliament auspices between 15 and 18 March, but that they rejected, saying it was too soon. “I’m not thrilled about daily talks with different people on the political scene who cannot agree among themselves. There are a dozen platforms for the dialogue, there are parties which want a dialogue but without the EP representatives,” Dacic said.

SPC: Draft law on same-sex unions unacceptable (FoNet/RTV) 

The draft law on same-sex unions is unacceptable to the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC), the Holy Synod of the SPC has announced, noting that they submitted their position to the Serbian government in a timely manner and within the legally prescribed deadline. This draft law is unacceptable for the SPC, the statement reads, along with the assessment that “the vast majority of the proposed provisions are contrary to the Gospel of Christ and the overall experience and practice of the Church” upon which “our Serb nation, as well as the entire European civilization, are spiritually and morally based”. It is impermissible to legally equate same-sex unions with marriage and family, as stated in the wording of the draft law, because this discriminates against the marital union, as a Christian and legally protected value, underlines the Synod. It stressed that “the Church respects the freedom that God has given us and understands the human aspiration to express freedom in different ways”. The Synod, as it is stated, “agrees that there is a need to exercise certain personal, property and other rights of those the draft law concerns”, but “pointed out with valid arguments that they are exercised in the legal order of the Republic of Serbia entirely administratively, without interfering with marital and family legislation”. The statement notes that “the Synod stresses that it accepts and promotes dialogue, as the only and necessary way to find solutions regarding all issues of general societal importance, as well as on this issue that has caused great concern”. The Synod expects that “the arguments of the SPC on this issue will be taken into account”.

Schieb: Media freedom and NGOs crucial for democracy in Serbia (N1) 

German Ambassador to Serbia Thomas Scheib told N1 on Wednesday his country said media freedom and the NGO sector were the essential pre-condition for democracy and that media freedom meant undisturbed work of journalists. “However, some campaigns (against independent media and NGOs) have been launched, and that concerns us,” he said. Scheib added that the European Commission (EC) report on Serbia was unambiguous and showed expectations to where the shortcomings that needed an improvement were. He said the Serbian government promises to work on reforms and that he was in almost daily dialogue with the country’s authorities, encouraging them to continue along that road. “Serbia is half-way to the EU. We hope for more dynamic this year. It’s important to start reforms in the rule of law and democratization,” Scheib said. He added that by mid or end of 2021, the EU member states would debate the situation and decide what would be next. “I can encourage the government to continue with reforms. It’s important to implement the new methodology, and I’m glad Serbia accepted it,” the Ambassador said. He added the new methodology aimed at making the negotiations more efficient. “The essence won’t change – the implementation of reforms, primarily in the rule of all law,” Scheib said, adding the process of improving the political process management between Serbia and the EU was underway.

REGIONAL PRESS 

Serbs have right to peaceful united Serb nation in this area (Srna)

Serb member and Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) Presidency Chairman Milorad Dodik has said that Serbs have the right to their future and a peaceful united Serb nation in this area, which can contribute to modern civilization. At the marking of the Day of Remembrance of the 1999 NATO aggression victims, Dodik stated that silence was the strongest response to the sorrow, pain and injustice that happened to the Serb people in many historical moments. “I believe the silence is the strongest response ever, as it has taken many of our brothers and sisters, children and mothers into the afterlife. Silence because we cannot believe that there were those in the modern age who thought they should exercise their power by killing innocents, demolishing, setting on fire,” Dodik said in a speech at Kombank Hall in Belgrade. He reminded that NATO was dropping bombs on the Serb people on two occasions – once in Republika Srpska (RS), the second time in Serbia, thus definitely directing against the Serb people. “In the way they delivered cluster bombs with depleted uranium to us, the consequences of which many of us suffer from nowadays. All in the name of the goal of changing the government, changing democracy, sending `merciful angels` via bombs,” said Dodik. Recalling that they were killing women, children, destroying everything they could, while informing their own public about it being an inevitable collateral damage, Dodik pointed out the cynicism that killing a man is called collateral damage. He stated that they demolished 67 schools in Serbia, 20 hospitals, 19 health centers, 167 buildings and cultural monuments, setting people in vehicles on fire, destroying bridges and the will to live.

Cubrilovic: Prove that NATO committed crime (Srna)

RS parliament speaker Nedeljko Cubrilovic has told Srna that Serbia and the RS must exhaust all legal possibilities to prove that NATO committed a crime against them in 1999 and 1995. Cubrilovic, who attended the marking of the 22nd anniversary of the beginning of NATO aggression and the Day of Remembrance of the victims of NATO air strikes on FR Yugoslavia, stresses that it is extremely important that RS and Serbia mark together this and other important dates in the history of the Serb people, remembering the innocent victims and admonishing that such a thing should never happen again. “Of course, we expect at least a shred of justice in this and hope that the legal teams of both Serbia and RS will prove it, although it is neither consolation for the families of the victims, nor for us as a nation. Let it simply stand as a reminder that something like this should never happen again anywhere,” pointed out Cubrilovic. He said that the bombing of FR Yugoslavia was completely illegal. “A sovereign country was bombed without any legal basis, without actual reasons, a single assessment or presence of the UN as a body that should make such a decision. Unfortunately, our people say: ‘necessity knows no law` and that is exactly what happened, but it is important to mark it, to remember for the sake of the future in this area, but also for peace in the world,” stated Cubrilovic. He emphasizes that Serbia and the Serb people, wherever they live, will never forget the innocent victims of NATO, and pointed out that three-year-old Milica Rakic, killed during the bombing, is stronger than any bomb dropped on her people. “Her name is stronger than any world’s power if we look at it from a justice standpoint,” pointed out Cubrilovic. The first air-raid siren sounded in Serbia 24th of March, 22 years ago, at 7.45 pm, signaling the beginning of the NATO aggression against FR Yugoslavia. NATO countries carried out the attack without the UN Security Council’s permission, using lethal means prohibited by international conventions during the 78 days of aggression, including cluster bombs and shells filled with depleted uranium. Numerous business and infrastructure facilities were destroyed. The total war damage is estimated at more than $ 100 billion, not counting the incalculable damage to the natural environment and the long-term consequences for human health. In large-scale destruction, unprecedented in modern world history, several thousand people were killed and more than 6,000 suffered serious injuries, many of which caused permanent disability.

Grlic Radman: B&H deserves European perspective, Croatia is its strongest advocator, non-paper is good basis for discussion (Vecernji list)

Vecernji list carried an interview with Croatian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlic Radman, who was first asked what the document he presented to his fellow colleagues (EU Foreign Ministers) contains (referring to Croatia’s non-paper on B&H, which was supported by Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary and Slovenia and which was presented ta EU FAC session the other day). Grlic Radman replied by saying it is a comprehensive document that “approaches B&H in a holistic way” and a good basis for discussion. According to him, B&H deserves the European perspective and the Euro-Atlantic integration, which is why it is important to help B&H become a functional country in which the constituent peoples and all citizens will be equal. “In essence, it means building a democratic society,” added Grlic Radman. Asked what Croatia’s ambitions in it are, Minister Grlic Radman says Croatia has a task and obligation to help B&H achieve the Euro-Atlantic road and that, throughout all this time, “I cannot say that B&H and other Western Balkans countries were forgotten, but there were a lot of issues the European Union was dealing with”. In this context the Minister said this is the time when trans-Atlantic ties are being re-established, foremost with the US, which is Croatia’s traditional partner and which is why Croatia wants to put B&H back in the focus. Grlic Radman went on to say: “If the European Union wants to be strong, it has to demonstrate the strength towards the neighborhood. That non-paper is a result of wish to help B&H”. He added by saying that according to announcement of Mr. (EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy) Josep Borrell, the document should be discussed by the EU Council next month. Asked if the document in question was written solely for needs of the Croats in B&H or whether it is broad enough for realization of the key objective – the EU perspective for B&H, Grlic Radman replied by saying the document “is absolutely inclusive and is not exclusive towards any side”. In this context he said no matter the numbers, all three peoples (in B&H) must have equal rights and that they should elect their representatives into the authorities. “It would not be good if any people is in a ghetto or to have monopoly over B&H,” added the Croatian Minister. Asked to comment on remarks according to which Croatia is meddling into internal matters in B&H, Grlic Radman said, among other issues, that Croatia and any other country cannot meddle into the political situation in B&H, whilst at the same time the Croats want their voice to be heard since they cannot achieve their rights. In this context Grlic Radman added by saying: “Now their status has been jeopardized because they cannot elect their representatives because they have been sidelined by other peoples and which is why they are gathered around a party for which they believe it can help them achieve their rights”. Asked to comment on accusations against the Croat parties, according to which they do not want to secure right to the ethnic minorities foremost in light of the Sejdic-Finci judgment and what is Croatia’s position in that, Grlic Radman replied by saying Croatia is dedicated to the rule of law and respecting all rulings and judgments, adding that decisions of the European Court of Human Rights and the Constitutional Court of B&H should be equally implemented.

Krivokapic on the occasion of NATO bombing anniversary: We remember our victims with sadness (RTCG)

This government is firmly determined to look straight in the eyes of all historical facts and to kneel before the sacrifice made or being made by any of our citizens. Our Euro-Atlantic integration course, of course, obliges us to take into account our role in the global interest of both Europe and humanity, but above all to take into account the suffering and efforts that all the citizens of Montenegro have endured and are enduring. We remember our victims with sadness and we most sincerely share the pain with the families who lost their loved ones in the NATO bombing of the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Twenty-two years ago, we as a society and a nation lost citizens who would today represent our striking creative, progressive and restorative power. As a parent, as a man, as the Prime Minister, and as a citizen whom “all the wounds of my own kin hurt” I bow before their innocent victim. Today, I would not mention justice or injustice, judges or executioners, or the reasons or goals that preceded this tragedy. It is superfluous to talk about all this when we stand today over the tumuli which are an outcome that cannot be fixed and has no consolation. And of course we will remember the victims, and the sirens, and the bomb fall whistle, and the suffering, and of course our memory will be a reminder to everyone and always that we are a society to which all must show true respect, esteem, understanding, and I emphasize, repentance. The bridge that the famous Nobel laureate wrote about as a point where civilizations, philosophies, cultures, religions and centuries meet, exchange and enrich themselves, in Murino became a symbol of tragedy for Montenegro and an example of how everything a genius mind can conceive becomes a monument of sorrow and tragedy with just one forceful and ruthless move. On the twenty-second anniversary of the beginning of the NATO bombing, we especially remember and mention the names of children who are our unforgettable, most tragic symbols of the cruel suffering of civilians: thirteen-year-old Miroslav Knezevic, ten-year-old Julija Brudar and twelve-year-old Olivera Maksimovic and other heroic victims in 1999, but also all those of our ancestors who lost their lives also in the bombings that hit Montenegro from everywhere during the Second World War, when innocent citizens were also killed. All our losses and all our sufferings today should remind us that we paid dearly and that the opportunity we have to build a prosperous society of understanding and tolerance came after our great righteous and innocent victims, and that we must not miss this opportunity. Perhaps someone will say or think that our modest commemoration of this sad day is an expression of hypocrisy or mere protocol. One may cite as an argument for such an attitude some of our diplomatic guidelines, the European integration of the Western Balkans, or Montenegro’s membership in NATO, but I want to say to well-meaning critics and those who certainly are not, that we are not the Government that trades or bids with human souls and the most intimate feelings, nor we will ever do that. There neither exists, nor will exist, government concept or agenda that will grow our hearts cold or alienate us from our citizens, because then we would not perform the duty for which we were constituted. Of course, we should not forget nineteen-year-old Sasa Stajic, nor any sacrifice we have made during the past, because by forgetting we would betray the sanctity of life. But for the sake of the same sanctity and the future of our children, we are turning a new page in our history, in which, hopefully, there will be no blood and tears!

Secret CIA data reach Moscow (Pobjeda)

Western intelligence partners have confirmed that the names and surnames of CIA agents, whose identities were revealed with disregard to the law and security protocols in an official note of the National Security Agency (ANB) forwarded to Security Committee members, are already known to the Serbian Security and Intelligence Agency. There are well-founded suspicions that the classified information has reached Moscow, Pobjeda has learnt from several diplomatic sources. After media allegations on data leaks, as well as Pobjeda’s texts about the espionage activities of the fake American diplomat Stevan Simijanovic and his links with Montenegrin officials, partner Western services asked for an urgent answer from Podgorica colleagues – whether the secret data “left” Montenegro. Pobjeda reports that the ANB told foreign colleagues that there was no reliable information on who could have the names and surnames of the CIA agents, but that there were well-founded fears that secret information was now known to services outside Montenegro.

Montenegro is a credible partner of the European Union (CdM)

Montenegro has accepted the new methodology in joining the EU as a sign of full commitment to the European path, which will help us speed up the negotiation process, said Montenegrin Foreign Minister Djordje Radulovic at a meeting with EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak. Ahead of the meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, Radulovic spoke with EU Special Representative for the Western Balkans and Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue Miroslav Lajcak, as well as with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavosoglu and Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman. Radulovic said that Montenegro is a credible partner of the EU, and that the increase in support for membership in the Union, which amounts to more than 80 percent, is proof of our sincere belief in the value system that the Union represents. Lajcak pointed out that Montenegro is “an example of a responsible attitude towards European integration and regional dialogue” and expressed confidence that it will continue to successfully implement policies with the aim of joining the EU as soon as possible. He praised the full commitment of our country to the Euro-Atlantic path, stating that the activities in the field of foreign policy so far have proven the seriousness and responsibility in the realization of key priorities.

Zaev says he may try to declare a state of emergency to get out of the parliamentary gridlock (Republika)

PM Zoran Zaev announced the option of declaring a state of emergency, as his coalition fails to move any legislation through parliament. Zaev only has 62 votes for his SDSM – DUI – BESA coalition, and most of the time some of them are hospitalized or away on travel, meaning that it is unable to convene the parliament – which requires 61 votes – without help from the opposition. The opposition VMRO-DPMNE party said it will give the votes for the adoption of the proposed economic stimulus package and a few other critical bills, but not for the other items on Zaev’s agenda. Zaev said that the options include coordination between the parties in the Parliament, a meeting of party leaders and declaring a state of emergency. “We need to liberate the institutions who mean life for our people,” Zaev said. He added that he is open to adopting a new law on citizenship. Two Albanian opposition parties announced they will block any piece of legislation until the parliament adopts an extremely liberal citizenship law that will allow people to claim they lived in Macedonia prior to 1991 and are entitled to citizenship simply with the help of one or several witnesses. Zaev announced a meeting with his coalition partner Ali Ahmeti from DUI and with the speaker of parliament Talat Xhaferi to discuss the crisis in the parliament. In a state of emergency, the government can rule by decree. But it takes 80 votes to declare a state of emergency, or, alternatively, a decision by the President. But such a move from the President can only be taken if the parliament is unable to meet, which is currently not the case – it can meet, but there are simply not enough votes for any proposal due to Zaev’s decision to form a purely political coalition even after the narrowly split results of the chaotic 2020 elections.

Macedonian chamber of commerce secures a major quantity of vaccines from Serbia (Republika)

After the Macedonian Association of Journalists (MAN), and the independent police union, now the Macedonian Chamber of Commerce (SKM) turned to its partners in Serbia and secured whopping 10,000 doses of coronavirus vaccines. This is actually more than the total secured by the PM Zoran Zaev so far – they had an 8,000 Pfizer vaccines donation (also from Serbia) and managed to buy 3,000 Sputnik vaccines from Russia. Macedonia has one of the worst inoculation rates in Europe, as well as the third worst death rate from the epidemic, and Healthcare Minister Venko Filipce botched the most likely serious procurement deal – with China – when he tried to insert a shell company registered in American Samoa into the contract, prompting the Chinese to call the whole thing off. Meanwhile Serbia is awash in vaccines from various producers and Macedonian citizens, fed up with waiting on Zaev and Filipce to find vaccines for their own public system, are turning to Serbia. MAN took 100 journalists to the border city of Vranje to receive the Astra Zeneca vaccine, and now the police union negotiated a similar, larger deal with its Serbian counterparts. And the biggest deal so far, the 10,000 doses negotiated by the SKM chamber of commerce,will go to businessmen who need to travel and keep the economy from collapse, as well as to workers in essential fields. The Independent Police Trade Union informed that in cooperation with the twinned unions from Serbia, it is in the final phase of negotiations for the provision of vaccines for the members of the Union. The vaccination primarily of the members, but also of the other employees from the organizational units with the highest risk who will volunteer, will take place in Serbia, according to a previously prepared plan by a working body that the Union will form and for which we will additionally inform you, said the Independent Police Trade Union. Meanwhile, Serbia – one of the few countries where Macedonian citizens could travel without a coronavirus test (or at all) – announced it will begin requiring the test. Alternatively, travelers who have taken both doses of a coronavirus vaccine, will also be allowed in.

Rama recalled the 22nd anniversary of NATO bombing of Belgrade to save Kosovo (Radio Tirana)

Prime Minister Edi Rama recalled the 22nd anniversary of the NATO bombing of Belgrade to defend Kosovo. In a Twitter post, the head of government recounted the speech of the then US President Bill Clinton, who gave the historic news. Rama says this is an indelible date in the history of Albanian-American relations. “The historic address of President Bill Clinton for the bombing of the National Socialist regime of Belgrade in defense of martyred Kosovo, makes today an indelible date in the history of Albanian-American relations,” writes Edi Rama. In his speech at the time, Bill Clinton said, among other things: “At the moment, Serbian troops are moving from one village to another, shelling civilians and torturing their houses. We are seeing innocent people taken from their homes, forced to live in their dirt and sprayed with bullets. Kosovar men dragged from their families, fathers and children together, lined up, and shot in cold blood. What is happening in Kosovo has nothing to do with war in a traditional sense; it is an attack by tanks and artillery against innocent people whose leaders have already agreed to peace. So, compatriots, let us fight to put an end to this tragedy, which for us is a moral request,” said Clinton.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA SOURCES 

Russia Warns NATO Aggression Must ‘Never Be Repeated’ as U.S. Rallies Alliance (Newsweek, by Tom O’Connor, 24 March 2021) 

Russia has issued a warning against a repeat of the NATO Western military alliance’s bombing campaign of Yugoslavia on its 22nd anniversary, as Washington’s top diplomat seeks to rally the alliance for the first time under the banner of U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration. “Such evil, as NATO’s aggression against Yugoslavia, must never be repeated,” Moscow’s embassy in Belgrade, then the Yugoslav capital and today the capital of Serbia, said in a statement Wednesday in reference to the 1999 NATO attack on the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The statement argued that the attack violated “the basic principles of international law established in the UN Charter, the Helsinki Final Act and other international documents.”

The air campaign was launched in response to accusations that Yugoslav security forces had conducted a campaign of ethnic cleansing against ethnic Albanians in the fight against the separatist Kosovo Liberation Army. Both Russia and China used their permanent United Nations Security Council member privileges to veto international action, arguing a need for peaceful settlement rather than the use of force. NATO went ahead anyway, with Moscow protesting to this day. “During the 78 days of the barbaric bombing, which was cynically portrayed as a ‘humanitarian intervention in the name of rescuing refugees,’ about two thousand civilians were killed,” the embassy said. “A significant part of the country’s infrastructural and industrial capacity was destroyed. Thousands of civilian buildings were destroyed. The use of depleted uranium ammunition has led to irreversible contamination in a number of land and groundwater regions.” New York-based monitor Human Rights Watch placed the number of Yugoslav civilians killed at around 500, though local authorities at the time placed the figure closer to the Russian estimate. Included in the collateral damage of the campaign was China’s embassy in Belgrade, where U.S. bombs killed at least three Chinese nationals and injured over two dozen more. The statement also complained of “enormous damage” not only to physical infrastructure but also “to the architecture of peace and security in Europe and to international stability.” The bombing, Russia argued, paved the way for further interventions across the globe, including “a whole series of Western operations with the implementation of the forces initiated under propagandist pronunciation, without the approval of the UN Security Council or with the perverted interpretation of the mandate assigned by the UNSC.” “Russia will continue to resolutely advocate strict adherence to universal international legal norms, such as the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states,” the embassy said. “In that context, we will support all efforts that will contribute to Belgrade and Pristina achieving a sustainable and mutually acceptable solution that meets the interests of the people of Serbia and international law.” In a tweet, Russian permanent representative to the United Nations Mikhail Ulyanov called then-Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov’s decision to cancel high-level talks in the U.S. over the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia “the first real and truly resonant step towards a U-turn of Russian foreign policy towards the protection of the civilized world order based on international law and the national interests of Russia.” To mark a decade since the NATO bombing of Libya, the Russian embassy in Washington recently accused the alliance of wrongly pursuing regime change against longtime Libyan leader Muammar el-Qaddafi “to the most devastating consequences” in remarks recently shared with Newsweek. Amid tense ties with NATO today, Konstantin Gavrilov, the head of the Russian delegation to the Vienna Negotiations on Military Security and Arms Control, criticized what he called NATO’s “policy of ‘containment of the Russian Federation” during a Wednesday meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Forum for Security Cooperation. Such an approach, he argued, was “counterproductive and only weakens stability in Europe.” He called on NATO to choose between “either containment or dialogue with our country.” But that same day, the alliance was hosting a high-profile guest for the first time, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who told reporters he “had a lengthy discussion about Russia” with his counterparts. “I think we all expect our relationship with Russia to remain a challenge into the foreseeable future, but it’s one that we’re prepared for,” Blinken said. “And ultimately, I think what we can hope is to have a relationship with Russia that is at least predictable and stable, and so given that, our intent is to engage Russia in ways that advance our interests while remaining very clear-eyed about the challenges that it poses.” He later named some specific areas of contention between Washington and Moscow, warning of “new military capabilities and strategies Russia has developed to challenge our alliances and undermine the rules-based order that ensures our collective security.” “These include Moscow’s aggression in eastern Ukraine, its build-up of forces, large-scale exercises, and acts of intimidation in the Baltic and Black Sea, the Eastern Mediterranean, the High North, its modernization of nuclear capabilities, and its use of chemical weapons against critics on NATO soil,” Blinken said. He also accused Russia of using “disinformation to erode confidence in elections and in safe, effective vaccines.” The Biden administration has sought to reinvigorate U.S.-NATO ties that were strained under former President Donald Trump, and has lashed out at Russian President Vladimir Putin, agreeing that he is “a killer” and warning he would “pay a price” for allegedly interfering in the 2020 U.S. election. Putin provided an unusual answer. “As for the statements of my American colleague, how would I respond to him?” Putin asked rhetorically. “I would say to him: ‘Be healthy!’ I wish him good health.” He then warned, “Whatever you call me is what you are called yourself,” and recounted a selective history of the United States, including mass killings of Native Americans, the enslavement of African Americans and the use of nuclear weapons in combat. Putin himself is accused of orchestrating the killing of dissidents, as well as the attempted poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Biden’s comments have spurred outrage in Moscow, where Putin has challenged Biden to a live discussion, an offer that has yet to be accepted. White House national security adviser told MSNBC on Monday he expected “to have tough days with Russia, because there are issues on which we profoundly disagree and actions we need to respond to forcefully.” His Russian counterpart Nikolai Patrushev said Wednesday that such comments indicated that Washington was seeking and planning for such an outcome. “And if they are planning that, they can implement that, but then they will be responsible for the steps that they would take,” Patrushev said, according to the state-run Tass Russian News Agency. He left the door open for cooperation, however. “We are committed to constructive cooperation that would take into account the interests of each of the parties and that would be equal,” he said. “Let me emphasize that we haven’t taken any hostile steps against the United States, we are not taking any now, nor are we planning to take any in the future.”