US, UK, UAE taking part in military exercise in Serbia

The international exercise Platinum Wolf 18 started on Monday in Base South (Jug) in southern Serbia, and will last until June 22.

According to the Serbian Ministry of Defense, about 500 officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the armed forces of the United States, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Montenegro and Serbia will take part in the exercise.

The drill's topics are "tactics, techniques and procedures in multinational operations - non-lethal weapons" and "peacekeeping operations." The military personnel from the participating countries will be trained in the use of non-lethal weapons, procedures, actions and procedures in engaging in multinational operations in international environment, the MoD said in a press release.

It is added that the exercise aims to enhance interoperability and mutual understanding among the members of partner nations' armed forces at the tactical level while conducting peace support operations in a multinational environment.

The opening ceremony was attended by Colonel Goran Stamenkovic from the Serbian Army Command, Colonel Sladjan Stamenkovic, exercise commander, Deputy Commander of Multinational Operations and Pre-Deployment Training Center Lieutenant Colonel Ivan Simonovic, and commanders of units from Bujanovac.