Awarding Decorations for the Engagement in UNFICYP

Wednesday, 27.9.2017 | Multinational Operations

A medal awarding ceremony has been held today for the members of the Serbian Armed Forces and the armed forces of Hungary and the Slovak Republic on the occasion of completing the tasks in the UNFICYP.

Today in the Topčider barracks, a medal awarding ceremony has been held for the members of the Serbian Armed Forces and the armed forces of Hungary and the Slovak Republic on the occasion of completing the peacekeeping tasks in the UN peacekeeping operation in the Republic of Cyprus.

The decorated members of the three armies, on the order of the Minister of Defence of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vulin, received military memorial medals from the Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces, General Ljubiša Diković, and the ceremony was attended by the Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces of Hungary General Tibor Benko, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic General Milan Maxim, members of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces, as well as representatives of the diplomatic corps and the UN.

Congratulating the decorated persons, General Diković welcomed the assembled peacekeepers and pointed out the importance of the task that the Slovak, Hungarian and Serbian soldiers, under the UN mandate, jointly carry out in Cyprus and their commitment to a common contribution to building peace and security in the world, as well as the security of our countries.

– Our joint engagement in the UN mission, equal partnership, professional and honourable attitude towards common responsibilities, mutual respect, observance and understanding of the local population and mutual problems, is an example of how to implement the ideas and goals of the UN missions. In particular, I would like to emphasize that our soldiers in the mission are solving the tasks in harmonious relations and that during the many years of joint engagement, there were no events that could cast a shadow on extraordinary cooperation and coexistence within the mission – General Diković emphasized, adding that their engagement in this mission was rated with the highest marks of the responsible authorities in the mission, the UN and the national commands.

Welcoming the assembled peacekeepers, Generals Benko and Maxim also pointed out the extraordinary cooperation of members of the three armies within the same contingent in the mission in Cyprus, agreeing that each member individually contributed to the fulfilment of the basic objectives of that mission that are reflected in the prevention of hostilities between the two warring sides on that island.

According to the Deputy Chief of the Peacekeeping Operations Centre of the General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces, Colonel Nikola Dejanović, it is for the first time that the Serbian Armed Forces, at the beginning of the seventh decade of its engagement in the UN peacekeeping operations, hosted a medal ceremony for the joint participation of its members and colleagues from the armed forces of Hungary and Slovakia. in the UNFICYP peacekeeping mission in Cyprus.

– Cities and friends connected in peace by the Danube River – Bratislava, Budapest and Belgrade, together on the tasks in the same blue line, the soldiers of Serbia, Hungary and Slovakia for almost seven years have proudly and dutifully represented their countries linked by trust and partnership and determined to participate in preserving the world peace peace and peace in this divided island country- Colonel Dejanović said, adding that the bases "St. Istvan", "Stefan Nemanja" and "General Stefanek" on that island became synonymous with professionalism, partnership and mutual confidence, both in the eyes of the Mission Command, and in the eyes of the local population.

From October 2010 to date, 548 members of the Serbian Armed Forces participated in the UN mission in Cyprus.