Depleted uranium sites do not pose a significant health risk

I am aware that NATO remains a controversial issue in Serbia. Memories of the 1999 air campaign are still painful for many, especially those who have lost loved ones, said the Alliance Secretary General.

Jens Stoltenberg, NATO secretary general, said in an interview with Kurir that he is aware that NATO remains a controversial issue in Serbia. Speaking about the 1999 NATO bombing of Serbia, the first man of the world’s largest military alliance says that we must not forget the past, but must go further and look towards a better future.

– I am aware that NATO is still a controversial issue in Serbia. The memories of the 1999 air campaign are still painful for many, especially those who have lost loved ones. NATO launched the operation in 1999 to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe in Kosovo, after more than a year of conflict, the departure of tens of thousands of refugees to neighboring countries and the failure of international diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict. Every innocent life lost is a tragedy and I deeply regret it. I expressed my condolences to the families and all those who lost their closest loved ones on both sides of the conflict. We must never forget the past, but we can go further, and that is what NATO and Serbia are doing with this partnership, we are looking towards a better future, Stoltenberg said.

When asked about the connection between the bombing and the subsequent increase in the number of cancer patients, he said:

– NATO takes health and environmental issues very seriously. That is why NATO established the Depleted Uranium Commission in 2001. The Commission was a forum for the exchange of information on potential health risks related to depleted uranium. Based on independent evidence, the Commission concluded that NATO’s use of depleted uranium in the Kosovo conflict posed no lasting health risk. A 2001 report from the United Nations Environment Program also concluded that depleted uranium sites do not pose a significant health risk. This has been scientifically proven and has not changed since 2001.

Kurir.rs/Boban Karović

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