23.03.2019, Berlin.
NATO’s military intervention during the conflict in Yugoslavia was the right decision, German Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs Heiko Maas said on March 23 in an interview to the German newspaper Stuttgarter Nachrichten.
“I still believe that the German intervention [meaning NATO’s bombing of Serbia — Rossa Primavera News Agency] was the realization of a responsible approach,” the German newspaper cites Maas.
“We saw then how human rights were being violated. It even came to mass murder. I believe that the NATO’s intervention was right. I don’t want to know what would have happened there if the intervention had not taken place”, said the German Foreign Minister.
In 1991, Yugoslavia broke into five parts. Kosovo, a region mainly populated by Serbs and Albanians, stayed as a part of Serbia and Montenegro’s territory. Kosovo’s Albanians held a referendum on independence, but the central authorities did not recognize its results.
In 1998, the conflict turned into hostilities. Without a UN mandate, NATO armed forces interfered on the side of Albanians, who supported separation. The NATO bombing of Serbian civil infrastructure begun on March 24 and continued until July 8, 1999.
According to various assessments, anywhere from 1200 to 2500 civilians, including 89 children, were killed. At this time, the independence of Kosovo is not recognized by Serbia, Russia, China, Israel, Iran, Spain, Greece, and a number of other countries.
In 2008, Kosovo became a self-proclaimed country, independent from Serbia. However, the Serbian President does not recognize the status of Kosovo. On December 12, 2018, the Kosovo Parliament endorsed the formation of its regular army. The Russian Permanent Representative to the UN believes that the US may use this army against Serbia, while the Russian Foreign Ministry calls for measures to dissolve the Kosovo army.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
