BJEGOVIĆ: BELGRADE AND BANJA LUKA TO COORDINATE RESPONSE TO TRILATERAL MILITARY ALLIANCE'S THREAT NECESSARY

BELGRADE, APRIL 1 /SRNA/ – Professor of security studies Miroslav Bjegović told SRNA that the Zagreb-Tirana-Priština military alliance represents a direct threat to the territorial integrity of Serbia and Republika Srpska, as well as to the entire Serb people, which is why SNSD’s proposal for the Serbia and Republika Srpska leaderships to coordinate their stance on this issue is therefore a necessary move.

Bjegović stressed that the conclusions reached at such a meeting should be heard by those who harbour ill intentions toward Serbia and Republika Srpska. He noted that the meeting is necessary in order to coordinate joint activities of Republika Srpska and Serbia, considering that this trilateral military alliance has an offensive character. "Serbia's response so far has been public, clear and unequivocal and relates to strengthening the defensive capacities of the Serbian Armed Forces, which are already strong enough to deter any potential aggressor, including members of this trilateral alliance," said Bjegović, who is also a former national security adviser to the prime minister of Serbia. He expects the official report from the meeting to send a message to the Serb people that nothing should surprise them anymore and that, in the event of any potential and unwanted new conflict, they must remain united regardless of where they live. "In that case, there are nine million Serbs. The Serb people has such a strong army that in all capacities – the military one in terms of armaments, equipment and technology, as well as manpower – it surpasses their trilateral alliance," Bjegović said. He believes the message from the meeting will serve as a warning to those who might dare to commit such an act of aggression to think carefully and in time about what they are doing. "Of course, everything that would be done would be in the spirit of deterring potential aggression and ensuring that such an idea is not realized by the trilateral pact, because it would be disastrous primarily for them," Bjegović says. Bjegović recalled that on the Serbian side, above all President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić continuously sends messages of peace, stability and calls for creating a common, healthier and safer future in the Western Balkans. "In contrast, all official statements from Croatia are not only ill-intentioned but also threatening to the national security of both Serbia and Republika Srpska, which is why we must in time think about what the enemy might intend to do to us in the future," Bjegović believes. He pointed out that the latest negative and threatening message is the statement by Croatia's President Zoran Milanović about canceling the Brdo–Brioni Summit, allegedly due to the president of Serbia's rhetoric. Bjegović noted that the Croatia's president did not mention the direct threats made by Croatia's officials who said that the HIMARS missiles they received from the United States should be used precisely against Belgrade.