NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that NATO intervention in 1999 was not directed against the people in Yugoslavia, but it had the aim to protect civilians in wider region, Tanjug news agency reported.

“We must never forget the past, but we can move ahead, and this is something NATO and Serbia are doing today in a partnership moving towards constructive relations that are of mutual benefit,” SG Stoltenberg noted.

He also added he knows very well that NATO is still disputable in parts of Serbian society. “Memories about intervention in 1999 are still very painful for many, in particular for those who have lost their beloved ones. I extended the condolence to families and to all those who have lost someone during this intervention, on both sides in the conflict,” Stoltenberg said.

SG Stoltenberg noted that Serbia’s policy of military neutrality was not an obstacle for NATO and Serbia to be close partners.

“I want that Serbia succeeds on the path it has chosen and I work for mutual benefits of Serbia and NATO, based on relations that are acceptable to Serbia and NATO Alliance,” SG Stoltenberg told Tanjug news agency.