Germany's ambassador to Serbia, Wolfram Maas:

Serbs must explain to their children that 78 days of the NATO bombardment in 1999 was justified, so that they would not hate the Atlantic Alliance. ...

At a press conference in Belgrade regarding NATO, Germany's ambassador to Serbia, Wolfram Maas, said Serbs must explain to their children that the bombardment [78 days in 1999] was justified, so that they won't hate the Atlantic Alliance. "I must criticize government figures in Belgrade who continue to use expressions like 'NATO bombing'. "

Imagine you are walking down Knez Milosh street and your child asks you 'Daddy, who did this?' You answer him 'NATO'. And what do you expect that child to think about NATO? "

"That's not," Maas explained, "like when I was a boy in Germany and looked at the ruins in my city. I did not hate the one who had done that, because there were people who could tell me why he did that."

Besides, he insisted, "this country is much different than three years ago, when hooligans attacked my embassy.

"For me It was heart-warming to see the Democratic Party, the Serbian National Party, the Socialist Party of Serbia, G17 and Liberal Democratic Party assembled with Guido Westerwelle and declare in solidarity that integration in the EU is priority Number One."

"That," declared Ambassador Maas, " is fantastic progress in comparison to three years ago." He stressed that the questions of the EU and NATO are connected.

"In the case of Serbia, it is logical that she should first become a member of the EU, then in stages become a NATO member. And it is logical, after a given period of time, that an EU member should become a member of NATO. Serbia's NATO membership is not a question of 'if', but 'when'," according to the ambassador.

Maas attended a conference "Serbia, the Western Balkans and NATO -- by 2020," convening leading pro-NATO forces in Serbia, as well as the ambassadors of the US, Germany and the head of the EU delegation to Serbia, Vincent Degert. (October 28th, 2011.)