Czech President Milos Zeman apologized to Serbian residents for Belgrade’s bombing and other cities of Yugoslavia in 1999. This was announced by the spokesman for the head of state Jiji Shephekk in Facebook .
he wrote that Zeman met with Serbian President Alexander Vucich in Prague and handed him the “Order of the White Lion”. During the meeting, the Czech leader apologized for the participation of his country in bombing and noted that this was a trauma and stain on his conscience.
“Talleyran (Charles Talleyran – French politician, his surname is considered to be synonymous with tricks and unprincipledness – approx.” Tape.ru “) would say that it was worse than the crime, it was a mistake. And I would like to ask the Serbian people, Like a person, forgiveness. I was bothering me all the time, “said Zemman, in those years held the post of Prime Minister of the Czech Republic.
He explained that at the time of making a decision on the bombardment, the Czech Republic was located in NATO for several weeks and was the last one who agreed to this step. According to politics, the government, which he then headed, “desperately looking for at least one country,” which would oppose airlinales. “Nevertheless, this does not justify us, but it was a lack of courage. And with this apologization and plenty of forgiveness, I got rid of my many years of injury,” – concluded Zemlan.
From March 24 to June 9, 1999, Serbia and Montenegro, which were then part of the Union of the Republic of Yugoslavia, were subjected to NATO bombers. Ethnic cleansing in Kosovo were called the official occasion of operation “Union Power”. According to the Ministry of Defense of Russia, about two thousand civilians were killed as a result of the bombardment, among them are dozens of children. Thousands of civil facilities were destroyed, soil and water were contaminated in some areas.
Directly in the bombing of the Czech Republic did not participate. However, after the completion of the operation, military personnel were introduced into the region as part of the KFOR – international forces under the guidance of NATO, responsible for ensuring stability in Kosovo.