Majority of Serbians wouldn't accept NATO's apology - poll

Most Serbians would not accept a NATO apology for the 1999 bombing campaign and are against the country's membership in the alliance.

Source: Tanjug
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(Getty Images, file)
(Getty Images, file)

This is the case even though they chiefly blame the intervention on Slobodan Milosevic's policy, Tanjug is reporting, citing a survey conducted by the Institute for European Affairs NGO on Friday.

According to the poll, 64 percent of Serbians would not accept NATO's apology for the war the alliance led against their country in 1999.

84 percent of respondents - most of whom were men and people under the age of 60 - said they opposed Serbia's membership in NATO, 11 percent supported it, while five percent were undecided, the survey conducted March 10-17 has shown.

40 percent of those who took part in the poll think that Serbia joining NATO is a condition for EU accession, 17 percent said they "did not know," while 43 percent think this is not the case.

Respondents identified LDP leader Cedomir Jovanovic as the strongest supporter of close relations with NATO (23 percent), followed by PM and presidential candidate Aleksandar Vucic (20 percent), and presidential candidate Vuk Jeremic (16.6 percent).

As for the NATO's bombing of Serbia, the survey showed than just under 40 percent of citizens think former Serbian and Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's policy was the main reason, 17.6 percent think it was done in order to ethnically cleanse Serbs in Kosovo, 11.3 percent named "political interests," while seven percent "could not state any reason."

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