BELGRADE, November 12. /TASS/. Thirsty to wield power over other countries, the United States has caused innumerable problems around the world, including the bombing of Yugoslavia, the likes of which must be prevented from ever happening again, Vyacheslav Volodin, the chairman of the State Duma (the Russian parliament’s lower house) said on Tuesday.
"This must not happen again," Volodin said in a video message to participants of the international conference "The Long-term Consequences of the Bombing of Yugoslavia for Serbian Society and the Formation of Multipolar World," held on November 12 at the Russian Center for Science and Culture "Russian House" in Belgrade.
Serbian news station and broadcaster B92 quoted Volodin as saying: "The desire of one side, the United States of America, to wield power and dominance over other countries has led to numerous problems."
"In talking about Yugoslavia, we also remember Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries on which the USA carried out aggression," Volodin said. "But it all started in Yugoslavia, when NATO bombed peaceful Belgrade."
"Countries, and primarily EU countries, should understand that, when they allowed Yugoslavia to be bombed, they allowed the destruction of many other, once prosperous countries with original culture and traditions," Russia’s senior lawmaker stated.
According to Volodin, "it is very important to objectively assess the events that took place 25 years ago."
"We must do all we can so that the tragedy that happened in 1999 in Yugoslavia, and then in other countries, never happens again," Volodin added, speaking to participants at the conference.
Bombing of Yugoslavia
NATO launched a military operation against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on March 24, 1999. The bloc's leadership claimed that the main goal of Operation Allied Force was to prevent genocide against the Albanian population of Kosovo. According to NATO’s data, aircraft from the alliance’s member states carried out 38,000 sorties during the 78-day operation.
Military experts say, citing research, that 3,000 cruise missiles were fired and about 80,000 tons of bombs were dropped, including cluster and depleted uranium munitions. According to Serbian data, the bombardments killed 3,500 to 4,000 people and injured some 12,500, two thirds of them civilians.