Serbia and Montenegro Air Force

Current Yugoslav Air Force will probably change its name in Serbia and Montenegro Air Force. This is result of landmark accord that
Serbia and Montenegro signed today. Under the deal, the two remaining partners in the Yugoslav Federation will become two semi-independent states, running their own economies, currencies and customs systems.

According to the Serbian Prime Minister, Zoran Djindjic, the new entity will be called “Serbia and Montenegro”. He said it would retain a federal presidency, and a shared defence and foreign policy.

The development will resolve, for the time being, Montenegro’s demands for full independence from the dominant Serbian republic.

The West was keen to prevent Montenegro splitting away, fearing that this would send a signal to Albanian minority in Serbia (Kosovo) and Macedonia and Serbs in Bosnia that regional boundaries can be redrawn.

The deal is the latest dramatic alteration to a federation which has changed shape considerably over the past decade. Four republics declared independence during the 1990s, leaving the tiny Montenegro and Serbia the only remaining partners in the once sprawling federation. Slovenia and Macedonia managed to break away relatively peacefully, while declarations of independence in Bosnia and Croatia led to the worst violence and war crimes seen in Europe since World War II.