Defense Minister Dragan Sutanovac stated that the Serbian Army is being commended by the largest armies in the world as one of the most respectable in the region, and emphasized that cooperation in the Partnership for Peace (PfP) Program does not question Serbia's military neutrality.

He underlined that the resolution adopted by the parliament obliges the military to neutrality in relation to joining alliances, but it does not hinder cooperation. He added that the last recruiting of civilians in the Army in December will officially mark the end of a huge segment of the already initiated reforms.

"The moment we joined the PfP Program in 2006, we opted for Euro-Atlantic integrations," Sutanovac told the Belgrade daily Vecernje Novosti, adding that there is a lot of room for cooperation, especially after the opening of Serbia's office with the NATO PfP program in Brussels a few months ago.

Sutanovac stressed that Serbia is not militarily biased, recalling that he recently visited China, the USA and Canada, and that the Russian army chief of staff paid a visit to Serbia a month ago.

"We want Serbia to be the main driving force of the region, and our army a factor of stability and economic prosperity. We welcome everybody's help towards that goal," he said.