Former Serbian Prime Minister Nikola Sainovic said former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic was right when he warned that the reunification of Germany would lead to war with Russia.
In an interview with Russian news agency RIA Novosti, Sainovic recalled the warnings issued by Milosevic, who served as president of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the late 1990s.
Sainovic said Milosevic viewed the eastward expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) following the fall of the Berlin Wall as a geostrategic change of massive proportions. He explained that Milosevic believed the military alliance would not halt its movement until it encountered firm resistance, describing the collapse of the wall as the true start of a war against Russia.
The former prime minister acknowledged that not everyone understood Milosevic at the time he made the prediction. However, Sainovic stated that subsequent events over time have ultimately proven the late leader correct.
Shift in global power balance
Sainovic said the global geopolitical landscape has shifted significantly since those warnings were made. He stated that both Russia and China are currently far stronger than they were in previous decades and are making a major contribution to establishing a new global balance of power.
Milosevic led Serbia through the dissolution of Yugoslavia before assuming the federal presidency of the country, which comprised Serbia and Montenegro. Sainovic held office as Serbia's prime minister in the early 1990s and later served as deputy prime minister of the federal republic during Milosevic's tenure.
Comments on international military operations
The comments follow earlier remarks by Milosevic's granddaughter, Marija, who spoke out sharply regarding a United States military operation against Iran. She drew parallels to past foreign interventions, recalling the 2011 overthrow of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Marija said she had initially believed that the public killing of Gaddafi by a crowd in 2011 represented the ultimate limit of international aggression. She added, however, that global affairs had only deteriorated further over the subsequent two decades.
