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Diplomat: NATO imposes "Stockholm syndrome" on Serbia by drawing it into its ranks

"I think this is a special kind of humiliation, attempts to impose the ‘Stockholm Syndrome’, when they force their victims to love them and admit publicly that they want to be with them," she said

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova Sergey Savostianov/TASS

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova

© Sergey Savostianov/TASS

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Serbia, Montenegro mark 15 years from start of Yugoslavia’s bombings

MOSCOW, February 22. /TASS/. Drawing Serbia into NATO against the backdrop of deaths of its diplomats under American bombs is a humiliation for the country, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has told the Rossiya 1 TV channel.

"They are told, 'You have to be in NATO, particularly Montenegro, because it is your security. We will protect you.' The say the same things to Serbia. How can you protect this country, if, despite the available information that people are held hostage, you bomb them. What kind of security are you talking about? I think this is a special kind of humiliation, attempts to impose the ‘Stockholm Syndrome’, when they force their victims to love them and admit publicly that they want to be with them," Zakharova said.

Earlier reports said that two employees of the Serbian Embassy in Tripoli abducted by gunmen in November 2015 had died in the U.S. air strike against a camp of the Islamic State terrorist group (banned in Russia) in Libya.

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"The sad thing is that this information was provided by the FBI and the CIA, the Serbian leadership said this. That is, they knew. Now they deny that they know the whereabouts," Zakharova said.

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic has confirmed the death of the employees of the Serbian Embassy in Libya. He said that they "had been killed by American bombs," but added that Serbia "needed the U.S. as a friend and partner, not as an enemy."

For his part, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said that Serbia would demand explanations from the United States over the diplomats’ deaths.

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NATO's large-scale military operations

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Oreshnik missile to change course of Ukrainian conflict, Medvedev believes

Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said it in an interview

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West irrational, fails to understand it cannot intercept Russia's new missiles — Kneissl

The former Austrian foreign minister stressed that she "counted on rational Western decision-makers, but irrationality is unfortunately on the rise among them"

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Nikolay Patrushev agreed that Trump, when he was still a candidate, "made many statements critical of the destructive foreign and domestic policies pursued by the current administration"

Defense ministers of five European nations to meet in Berlin on November 25

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"An automated warning was sent 30 minutes before the launch," Dmitry Peskov said

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Top stories from the Russian press on Thursday, November 21st

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Maria Zakharova noted that the Russian Embassy in Helsinki has sent requests to clarify the situation

Over 1,200 children from Dagestan remain in refugee camps in Middle East

The humanitarian mission for the repatriation of Russian children from the Middle East began in 2018 and is coordinated by the Russian children’s ombudswoman’s office

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Russia fires ballistic, non-nuclear-tipped missile at Ukrainian aerospace plant — Putin

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Western air defense systems unlikely to intercept Russian missiles — France’s Le Monde

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Russian military to warn Ukrainian civilians of future Oreshnik attacks — Kremlin

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China against double standards in international law — Foreign Ministry

Spokesman Lin Jian highlighted Washington's use of double standards in handling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict within the United Nations

Enemy losses, mercenary intrigue, humanitarian aid: situation in Kursk Region

Over the day, the enemy lost 150 troops, four motor vehicles, an artillery piece and two mortars

Ukraine conflict entering decisive phase, Polish PM says

According to Donald Tusk, "no one knows how the conflict will end"

US administration chooses to escalate Ukraine conflict — Kremlin

Earlier, Putin stressed that the Ukrainian army is unable to fire the latest Western-made long-range missiles on its own without support from NATO satellite feeds and the involvement of the bloc’s military

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Russia’s reaction to Austrian OMV’s failure to pay for gas justified — MFA

The company stated it would seek damages amounting to 230 million euro for failing to receive the contracted volume of gas from the Russian company for delivery to Germany

US, European officials suggest returning nukes to Ukraine — NYT

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US missile defense base in Poland long among Russian army’s targets — Foreign Ministry

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At the same time, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi once again criticized Russia’s actions in Ukraine

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Russian strategic missile forces to be equipped with advanced weapon by 95%

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Diplomat mocks US Senator for talking about invading Netherlands

Maria Zakharova quoted the US Senator, who called the ICC a "Kangaroo court" and ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan a "deranged fanatic"

Belarusian president believes humanity is on the brink of World War III

Alexander Lukashenko also emphasized that a real information war has been underway for a long time

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Russia entitled to use weapons against military sites of states attacking it — Duma

"Russia has repeatedly stated that such actions will receive a response – and it will be a stronger one," Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin stressed

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