Serbian interior minister meets with Russian security services chief

By InSerbia with agencies - May 23, 2017

SOURCEB92

Serbian Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic was in Moscow on Monday, where he met with Secretary of the Security Council of Russia Nikolai Patrushev.

The Serbian Ministry of Interior (MUP) said in a statement carried by Beta that Stefanovic and Patrushev “discussed cooperation between the two countries in combating terrorism and organized crime, and spoke about the position of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija.”

Stefanovic, who is on a working visit to Russia, told Patrushev about the endangering of their security and the position of the Serb people in Kosovo.

“We received Russia’s support in our efforts to ensure peace and stability and implement agreements, such as the formation of the Community of Serb Municipalities, which are important to us, but also to preserve the security of the Serb people, especially in those parts of Kosovo where they do not have complete security. The Republic of Serbia and the Russian Federation have a united position position on these issues, we will continue to have Russia’s support in the future, as well,” said Stefanovic.

He added that extensive police cooperation has been launched between the two countries during the preceding period of time, and that the MUP has good cooperation with Russia’s security services.

The minister pointed out that another topic of his conversation with Patrushev was the fight against terrorism, organized crime and crimes related to “abuses on the internet.”

“We talked about the current cooperation in confronting the challenges of terrorism, which no country, no matter how large or small, can solve alone,” Stefanovic said, adding that in this field, Serbia needs the help of great powers in terms of information exchange.

According to him, police cooperation in the fight against organized crime was also discussed, and cooperation between the Russian National Guard and the Serbian Gendarmerie.

According to Stefanovic, another topic was protection of citizens of both countries from “the dangers on the internet” – which, as announced, will be also be the topic of a security conference in Russia later this year.