On the 25th anniversary of the Yugoslavia bombing, perpetrated in 1999 by NATO forces at the time, Russian President Vladimir Putin slammed the West's foreign policy and actions, referencing precedents that still hold truths today. 

Addressing the war and bombing of Yugoslavia, Putin coined it a "great tragedy" and recalled the details of the attack. 

In 1999, the armed conflict between the separatist Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army and the Serbian army and forces triggered a series of NATO bombings in Serbia that lasted from March 24, till June 10. 

Serbian authorities revealed that 2,500 people, including 89 children, were killed, while 12,500 others were injured. Moreover, due to the use of depleted uranium bombs, cancer rates continue to spike among Serbians, President Aleksandar Vucic revealed. 

Putin placed all responsibility on the West, which dropped bombs on Serbia without any resolution at the UN Security Council, and launched a military operation tantamount to war in the center of Europe. 

In this context, NATO Military Committee Chair Adm. Rob Bauer stated on Friday that the alliance is prepared for a conflict with Russia.

In an interview with Armyinform, the online news outlet of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, Bauer mentioned that the goal of the alliance is always to be prepared for war.

He further claimed that there are currently no NATO troops stationed in Ukraine and there are no plans to deploy troops there. He added that any member state considering the deployment of troops should recognize that such a move will impact the entire alliance.

Bauer's comments contradict a statement issued earlier this month by Poland's Foreign Minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, who said that NATO forces are already in Ukraine.

Read more: Construction of the largest NATO base in Europe underway in Romania

The Serbian-Russian Alliance

Putin commended Serbia's allegiance to Russia and called it Russia's long-standing and spiritual ally. "They [Serbians] are spiritually close to us. And for centuries, I want to emphasize this, for centuries they have been Russia's most reliable ally. Russia, of course, remembers this. We know it and we remember it," Putin said, as broadcasted by Rossiya 24. 

Back in 2023, Serbia refused to be blackmailed into sanctioning Russia despite being a European Union member state. 

Russia’s Ambassador to Belgrade Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko stated at the time that the West is blackmailing Serbia to join the EU in imposing sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine, at a time when Serbia has refused to join the draconian sanctions on Moscow.

The official highlighted that the EU is attempting to pull Serbia to its side in the matter of interaction with Russia, or punishing Belgrade for refusing to do so.

Elsewhere in his remarks, he argued that "Brussels has reached a decision to restrict the supply of Russian oil, and Belgrade, despite its status as an EU candidate, was not exempt from it," stressing that the EU aims by applying such measures to intimidate and punish those who refuse to join the "pack".

Read more: Vucic: After urging Russia sanctions, West to push Kosovo recognition

West does what benefits the West

Concluding his address, Putin slammed the West's self-interest that does not account for international benefit. 

"Everything and always unfolds solely in their [Western] own interests. We must take this into account and, of course, act based on our interests, but keep in mind that they will try to exploit any situation to their advantage. And we have to do it in a way that is in Russia's interests," he said. 

During his re-election victory address, Putin weighed in on international affairs, criticizing Western notions of democracy, including in the United States, by underlining that democracy was a sham in the West.

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