Serbia, US sign status of forces agreement

08/09/2006

Visiting Washington, Serbian President Boris Tadic has been discussing the Kosovo status issue with administration officials and Senate leaders. He and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also signed an agreement setting out the rights and obligations of US military personnel stationed in Serbia.

By Igor Jovanovic for Southeast European Times in Belgrade – 08/09/06

Serbian President Boris Tadic (left) and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice exchange documents after signing the Status of Forces Agreement on Thursday (7 September). [Getty Images]

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and visiting Serbian President Boris Tadic signed an agreement Thursday (7 September) regulating the rights and obligations of US military personnel stationed in Serbia.

The Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) will do much to boost bilateral relations, Rice said.

"This agreement is very important for deepening ties between the United States and Serbia and improving military defence co-operation and friendship," she said.

On the Kosovo issue -- the subject of a half hour discussion ahead of the SOFA signing --- Tadic acknowledged "a difference of opinion". But he said it was important that Serbia maintain good relations with Washington after the status negotiations are finished.

"This is in Serbia's strategic interest," he told reporters.

Tadic's US visit is the latest signal of improved ties. In April, the two countries signed their first major military agreement, the Bilateral Agreement to Prevent the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction.

According to Bojan Dimtrijevic, Tadic's military affairs adviser, the Serbian Army stands to benefit from the SOFA signing, as it allows for continued defence sector co-operation -- including a partnership programme with the state of Ohio, which has been named a "strategic partner" in the field of defence.

The specific forms of co-operation will be defined more clearly later this month, when a top US military delegation visits Serbia.

On Wednesday, the first day of his visit, Tadic met with more than 20 senators, including Ohio's George Voinovich, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar, and the vice chairman of the Senate's Armed Services Committee, John McCain.

"Serbia wishes a compromise for Kosovo and Metohija, which will take care of all the citizens. That is our policy. Serbia will defend its right in Kosovo and Metohija with all the legal means. We do not want any violence in Kosovo, and Serbia's democratic institutions are the guarantor of such a policy," Tadic said.

He also met with National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley and with the Republican and Democratic Senate leaders, Bill Frist and Harry Reid. Also on his agenda is a meeting with US Vice President Dick Cheney and a speech at the Heritage Foundation.