BELGRADE, Serbia, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- NATO opened a liaison office in Belgrade to assist reforms of Serbia's armed forces and movement of the alliance's troops to Kosovo province.
After a signing ceremony in Belgrade, NATO Deputy Secretary-General Alessandro Minuto Rizzo said the move opens possibilities for improving cooperation and gives Serbia the chance to contribute to peace and stability in the Balkans and the world.
Adm. Harry Ulrich, NATO's southeast Europe flank commander, said the office opening was a historic moment for Serbia, Belgrade media reported.
Gen. Yanick Asset, former French military attaché in Belgrade, was tapped to be head of the NATO Belgrade office.
Asset said his task is to maintain links with Serbia's military and government officials on reforms of defense issues and in implementing a 2005 agreement on movement of NATO troops in western Balkans.
On Thursday in Brussels, Serbia joined NATO's Partnership for Peace cooperation program.
NATO troops have been deployed in Serbia's predominantly ethnic-Albanian Kosovo province since the 1999 bombardment of Serbia to stop Serbian military campaign in Kosovo.
