Serbian Defense Minister Dragan Sutanovac said Tuesday that an agreement between Serbia and the European Union (EU), according to which members of the Serbian Armed Forces (VS) and police would take part in EU's peacekeeping missions, should be signed in late March.

During a debate in the Serbian parliament on the participation of members of Serbia's army and other defense forces in multinational operations in 2011, Sutanovac pointed out that on behalf of Serbia, the agreement with the EU should be signed by Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Ivica Dacic and Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic.

Sutanovac said that the proposed decisions on the participation of Serbia's defence forces in peacekeeping operations in 2011 also meant that these forces would for the first time be involved in peacekeeping missions led by the EU.

This will be an important point in Serbia's history, given that the former Yugoslavia and now Serbia have so far participated only in missions led by the United Nations, he said, adding that the participation in the EU missions would be symbolic, with fewer members.

Sutanovac said that so far, the VS had sent a total of 212 of its members to peacekeeping missions and that 23 of the number had been women, adding that only members of professional forces can be sent to peacekeeping missions.

The proposed decisions envisage that this year, the members of the VS and police should participate in the multinational UN operations in Congo, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Lebanon, and Cyprus, and for the first time in the Middle East, as well as in EU peacekeeping missions in Somalia and Uganda.