Serbia signs security agreement with NATO

BRUSSELS, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- Serbia's top defense official was in Brussels Wednesday at NATO headquarters to sign a peace and security deal in a move to broaden cooperation with NATO.

Dragan Sutanovac, Serbia minister of defense, addressed the North Atlantic Council, the senior political governing body of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Wednesday and met with NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer to sign the Partnership for Peace Security Agreement.

Officials say the deal is part of an effort to remove restrictions on the flow of classified information between NATO and Serbia, NATO reported.

The Partnership for Peace Security Agreement, established with most of NATO's Mediterranean Dialogue and Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council partners, will "facilitate the exchange of classified information between Serbia and NATO for practical purposes," the release said.