“China Criticizes NATO’s ‘Barbaric Crimes’ in Yugoslavia in 1999”

BEIJING – China refused to forget what they called “barbaric crimes” committed NATO leadership of the United States (US) in Yugoslavia in 1999. This was conveyed by a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Wang Wenbin on Monday.

On March 24, 1999, NATO began air strikes against Yugoslavia. On May 7, five bombs hit the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, killing three people and injuring more than 20.

“The Chinese people will never forget the blood and life they gave to protect truth, honesty and justice. And it will never forget the barbaric crimes of US-led NATO either,” Wang told a briefing.

He pointed out that, on the one hand, NATO portrays itself as a regional defense alliance, but on the other hand, NATO continues to escalate regional tensions.

“Following the end of the Cold War, the US-led NATO has repeatedly inflamed conflicts around the world, from Bosnia and Herzegovina to Kosovo, from Iraq to Afghanistan, from Libya to Syria,” Wang said, as quoted from EurAsian TimesTuesday (9/5/2023).

He stressed that NATO continues to expand its presence to the East, to the Asia-Pacific region, creating opposition blocs and disturbing regional peace and stability.

“US-led NATO needs to think seriously about its crimes, to completely abandon the outdated Cold War-era mentality and to stop provoking regional conflicts and causing strife and unrest,” Wang said.

In 1999, an armed confrontation between Albanian separatists from the Kosovo Liberation Army and Serbian troops led to the bombing of what was to become the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, consisting of Serbia and Montenegro, by NATO forces.