5 hours agoThe Pentagon reacts to Voulin, following promotional statements against the American general
Periskopi(8 years ago)
(8 years ago)The US Department of Defence on Thursday has said that “the mismanagement” has prompted Serbian Defence Minister to criticise a senior US general, who had warned that Russia was interfering with Balkan state affairs. U.S. Army General Curtis Scaparrotti, chief of American forces in Europe, has said during a testimony in [...]
The US Department of Defence on Thursday has said that “the mismanagement” has prompted Serbian Defence Minister to criticise a senior US general, who had warned that Russia was interfering with Balkan state affairs.
US Army General Curtis Scaparotti, chief of American forces in Europe, has said during a testimony at the American Congress earlier this month that Serbia is vulnerable to Russian intervention.
Shortly after that statement, Serbia's Defence Minister, Aleksandar Vulin, has attacked Scaparrotti, saying the US general has accused Serbia of posing a threat to the Balkans.
“Since 1999, there has been no harsher, more irresponsible and more dangerous statement than that of General Scaparrotti”, Voulin has said.
But on Thursday, the Pentagon said that Volin's comments were not based on accurate information.
“The deconformation has begun to appear in Serbian media, which attributed General Scaparrotti a false statement aimed at inciting Serbian hatred against him, and against the United States”, Pentagon spokesman Johnny Michaels has told Reuters.
“later, a senior Serbian official issued a communiqué based on that misinformation, which gave false character the testimony of General Scaparrotti”, he added.
An official from the American Army European Command, speaking on condition of anonymity, has blamed the Russian news site Sputnik, and several other portals, on the creation of false information. The official has said the Russian influence has helped boost anti-American sentiments in Serbia.
In his testimony to the US Senate's Armed Services Commission on March 8th, Scaparrotti has not mentioned Serbia as a danger to the Balkans, according to a transcript of its statements.
But he has been critical of Russia's role in Serbia, which has historic ties to Moscow, despite the current strong relations between the Serbian Army and NATO.
“Russia is working in the Balkans, and I think we've taken our eyes off that area”, has warned Scaparrotti Senate Commission.
NATO has accused Russia of boosting an anti-Western mismanagement campaign since the annexing of the Ukrainian Crimea region by the Russian state in 2014.
American officials say the incident in Serbia shows that the United States is miring in fighting for preventing deliberate mismanagement by Russia.
