A military expert advised the Serbian opposition to pay attention to Bondsteel
If the Serbian opposition were really worried about the security of their country, they would raise the issue not about the Russian Emergencies Ministry base in Niš, but about the American military base in Kosovo.
Sergei Gorbachev, candidate of political sciences, retired captain of the first rank, told PolitNavigator about this, commenting on the scandalous statements of Serbian oppositionist Rada Trajkovic, who said that Russian rescuers “violate neutrality.”
“There are forces in Serbia that oppose the development of Russian-Serbian relations in all sectors. For those who are partial to the West, any presence of Russia causes a negative assessment. They would better appreciate the American presence in Kosovo. There is the largest base in Europe, Bondsteel, which is a stronghold of the United States and allows for the deployment of forces in a hot option. And the help of fraternal Russia should not worry them,” Gorbachev said.
At the same time, he bitterly admitted that Russia did not help Serbia enough in the late 90s (oppositionist Trajkovic accuses the Russian Federation of this). However, according to the expert, the state of the Russian armed forces was such that it may not have been able to help.
“During the period of Yeltsin’s rule, mistakes were made related to the weakening of our influence in the Middle East and the Balkans. Therefore, there is some truth in such statements. Russia was then in a weakened state. Perhaps a clearer analysis will show that we could not do anything.
As a naval officer, I will say that the situation was influenced by the absence of an active Mediterranean squadron. From 67 to 92, all conflicts in the Mediterranean ended in 7-10 days. When we left there, we abandoned our allies. But that was the policy,” the expert admitted.
At the same time, according to his data, it cannot be said that Russia then completely withdrew from the situation around Serbia.
“The Kursk nuclear submarine then carried out a number of electronic launches off the coast of Yugoslavia, practicing practical actions on real American targets. He acted secretly. The Yugoslavs must bow at the feet of the then Minister of Emergency Situations Sergei Shoigu. Thanks to aviation and other types of transport of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, a lot of humanitarian aid was sent to Yugoslavia at that time,” Gorbachev said.
He also recalled that Russia is now pursuing a completely different policy in the Balkans, providing military and military-technical assistance to Serbia.
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