“Incredible cynicism”: Russia has responded to the call of the US ambassador to the Serbs to “look wider” at the bombing of Yugoslavia

Washington should first make an official apology to Belgrade and then call for “moving forward.” This opinion was expressed by the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, commenting on the statement of the US ambassador to Serbia Kyle Scott that the Serbs should “look more broadly” at the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia.

“In fact, the States must first apologize to those who were bombed, to pay compensation for those killed, as well as for the wounded and who lost their health due to depleted uranium shells. And only then, having created a proper and not fragmentation-toxic foundation, to urge “to move forward,” Zakharova wrote on Facebook.

In turn, the chairman of the Federation Council Commission on Information Policy Alexey Pushkov in his Twitter called the words of the American diplomat "incredible cynicism."

"The US ambassador to Serbia called on the Serbs to look at the 1999 NATO bombing" from a broader perspective. " That is, go to the square and amicably give praise to the United States for being bombed. Incredible cynicism. Let the Americans say “look wider” at the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, ”said the senator.

Earlier in an interview with the Serbian newspaper Kurir, Kyle Scott, the outgoing US ambassador to Serbia, soon indicated that Serbia and the United States had “strong historical and cultural ties.”

“Neither Serbia nor the United States can take back time. But we can look at 1999 from a broader perspective, ”he said.

According to him, during his work he tried to recall that the relations between the two states were “excellent”, with the exception of the period of the reign of Slobodan Milosevic (president of Serbia in 1991-1997 and Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000. - RT ) .

“20 years have passed since then, the last moment to move forward and improve our relations, and we have a very good foundation for such progress,” the ambassador added.

Recall that the bombing of Yugoslavia by NATO forces (the operation was called "Allied Force") lasted from March 24 to June 10, 1999 without the approval of the UN Security Council. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, about two thousand civilians became victims of the attack. According to various estimates, the material damage from the bombing amounted to $ 30-100 billion.

At the same time, on the 20th anniversary of the events in the North Atlantic Alliance, the operation "Allied Force" was called "necessary and legitimate". Its purpose was supposedly to "prevent a humanitarian catastrophe in Kosovo."

“This decision was made after more than a year of fighting in Kosovo and several unsuccessful attempts by the UN and the contact group, of which Russia was a member, to find a peaceful diplomatic solution to this crisis,” a NATO statement said.

"Scott had to apologize for the events of 1999."

According to a member of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs, Sergei Tsekov, an American diplomat should apologize for the actions of the NATO leadership in 1999.

“Twenty years provide an opportunity to nevertheless give an assessment of what happened ... I think that the outgoing ambassador, if he is guided by high human feelings, should apologize for what happened,” Tsekov said in an interview with RT.

According to the senator, the ambassador offers Serbia to come to terms with the fact that 20 years ago, "the Americans and NATO bombed its territory." Instead, as Tsekov notes, the diplomat should admit that "the greatest mistake in terms of human lives" has occurred and that NATO’s actions were "absolute injustice to Serbia."

A member of the Federation Council stressed that in the US they are waiting for some kind of understanding from Serbia, but it is Washington that must realize what its actions led to.

There are crimes that “have no statute of limitations,” said Dmitry Novikov, first deputy chairman of the State Duma’s committee on international affairs.

“The bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999 was one of such unconditional crimes against the international community, the Serbian people, and Yugoslavia as a whole. Therefore, statements that one needs to look at these events “from a broader perspective” can mean only one thing - a proposal to forget about the criminal acts of NATO soldiers in this territory, which is impossible, ”Novikov told RT.

In his opinion, these events will remain in the history of the Serbian people as one of its most important and most dramatic pages.

“Not a word of repentance was heard from Washington, nor other statements that would disavow the events that occurred on the initiative of the United States. Against this background, hoping that the Serbs will forget, revise, it would be great naivety, ”the parliamentarian concluded.