Jovan Palalić: The Republic of Serbia will develop its relations with the CSTO

The member of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia stated this in his speech at the meeting of the Standing Commission on Political Affairs and International Cooperation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization.
“The Republic of Serbia, as a military neutral state, seeks to continuously advance its security system to achieve the most effective response to security challenges, risks and threats,” he stressed.
He recalled that on December 27, 2019, the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia “adopted the National Security Strategy, the supreme strategic document to protect the national values and interests of the Republic of Serbia from security challenges, risks and threats in all areas of public life. Its starting points are the preservation of sovereignty and territorial integrity, military neutrality, care for the Serbian people outside the Republic of Serbia, European integration and an effective law-governed state.”
At the same time, Jovan Palalić noted, “the Republic of Serbia is expanding and deepening its existing level of cooperation with the CSTO in order to contribute to global stability and security in accordance with the policy of military neutrality.”
The representative of the parliament, which is an observer to the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly, emphasized that “political relations with the CSTO Member States based on historical friendship are traditionally good, and according to many assessments, the best ever.”
As Jovan Palalić noted in his speech, the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Serbia strives to develop and further promote cooperation with the CSTO, as well as bilateral partnerships with member states. He recalled that the Republic of Serbia expressed its intention to obtain the status of the CSTO observer or partner state to create conditions for the participation of members and units of the Republic’s Armed Forces in the CSTO exercises.
As you may recall, the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia has been an observer to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization since 2013.