The President of the Czech Republic apologized for the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia
During the visit of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic to the Czech Republic, the President of this country, Milos Zeman, asked his colleague for an apology for his unwitting participation in NATO aggression.
This was reported by Politika, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
At a joint press conference between the two presidents, Zeman told reporters that he spoke with Vucic about the traditional Czech-Serbian friendship and recalled 1938, when, according to him, the Czech Republic was betrayed by its Western allies, as well as 1968, when it was allegedly betrayed by its Eastern allies.
“In both cases, the Serbian people expressed their support for us. We “thanked” him with bombings. That is why on this occasion I apologize on my own behalf for the bombing of the former Yugoslavia,” the Czech President said.
Zeman admitted that this bothered him all the time, recalling that at the time of the aggression the Czech Republic had only been in NATO for a few weeks.
“We asked for consent and desperately asked for at least one country to be against it, but we were left alone. However, it was a lack of courage,” noted the Czech leader, asking for forgiveness and quoting the Latin proverb “Speak out and save your soul.”
“What I experienced today in Prague and the hospitality that Serbia could see, which was prepared for me by Zeman in the name of all Serbia, touched me deeply,” said Aleksandar Vucic in turn. – The Czech President is a brave man who is different from other leaders and does not flatter anyone, has a powerful reputation in China and many countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. I'm wondering what we can do to have the same reputation. I thank my colleague Zeman for the wonderful words he dedicated to Serbia.”
The Serbian guest said that today and tomorrow the parties will have important negotiations with the participation of a large number of Czech companies.
“Zeman named a large list, including real estate, the automotive industry. In the first three months, trade between our countries increased by 18%, and in the next few years it will reach 2 billion euros. This trade exchange between the Czech Republic and little Serbia is also an honor for us and demonstrates the good nature of our relationship,” Vučić said.
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