First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dacic received the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, Mr. Michael Carpenter.

Minister Dacic pointed out that the Republic of Serbia and the United States had a very good cooperation in the fields of security and military policy, in which there was room for its further promotion, as well as in other areas of bilateral cooperation being on the continued ascending line.

The two interlocutors expressed satisfaction at the projects developed under the auspices of the Program of Cooperation with the Ohio National Guard as well as at the U.S. activities in offering support to the strengthening of "Jug" military base capacities to be given the status of a Partnership for Peace training center.

The Head of Serbian diplomacy underlined that Serbia was militarily neutral but that there was room, within the available PfP mechanisms, to further enhance cooperation in the mutual interest and with a view to ensuring lasting stability in the region.

The U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, Mr. Michael Carpenter agreed with the positive course in promoting bilateral relations and in intensified bilateral dialogue on all levels. He underlined that the United States highly valued cooperation between the Republic of Serbia and NATO within the PfP while respecting the position of Serbia concerning its military neutrality as well as Serbia's own decision on the content of its NATO/PfP cooperation.

The two sides also discussed combating international terrorism, to which Serbia had been actively contributing as well as the current migration as a serious threat that had to meet a unified response.