The head of the Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Irenaeus condemned the holding of a NATO conference in Belgrade. According to him, the wounds inflicted by the alliance on the Serbian people have not yet healed.

In March 1999, NATO countries, led by the United States, began a bombing campaign in Yugoslavia, mainly in Serbia and Montenegro.

Due to the fact that aircraft used shells with depleted uranium cores the local residents who were in the areas of the bombing have seen a dramatic increase in mortality rates and an increased number of congenital diseases in children.

The NATO operation, undertaken without UN sanctions, continued for about three months. Its purpose was to protect Kosovar Albanians from the Serbian authorities, who started a military operation against the militant Albanian terrorist organization "The Kosovo Liberation Army."