Sergey Naryshkin: In 1999 Russia Was Too Weak to Protect Serbia, Today We Are Ready to Defend Our Friends. | Beta Briefing

Sergey Naryshkin: In 1999 Russia Was Too Weak to Protect Serbia, Today We Are Ready to Defend Our Friends.

Source: Beta/Vecernje novosti
Archive / News | 21.10.19 | access_time 13:29

Sergei Naryshkin (printscreen: YouTube/Ruptly)

Director of Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Sergey Naryshkin has stated that “both Russia and Serbia had seen their countries collapse in the 1990s, and had suffered the destruction of their economies and bloody ethnical conflicts.”

In an article he wrote for the Vecernje Novosti daily newspaper, Naryshkin also said that “it was especially hard in former Yugoslavia, where NATO member states, under the auspices of the U.N. first started a civil war and then, in violation of international laws, carried out a direct military aggression against the Serbs.” According to him from March until June 1999, “the NATO air force was mercilessly bombarding peaceful Serbian towns including the country’s capital Belgrade.”

“Moscow, unfortunately, couldn’t aid Belgrade. Russia was too weak, worn out by constant fights against internal separatists and international terrorism. Terrified by what was happening in Serbia, the Russians were, as, former U.S. State Secretary Strobe Talbott, who directly participated in the “regulation efforts” in the Balkans, gleefully stated in 2014, “feeling like powerless spectators watching the preview of what NATO had in store for them”,” wrote Naryshkin.

The director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service believes that today, Russia is again one the leading centers of power in the world.

“Today, our country is distinguished by strong values, envied by many westerners, strong military potential, firm political will and readiness to without hesitation act on the international scene. We are ready to stand up for ourselves and protect our allies and friends,” concluded Naryshkin.

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