|
Yugoslavia FOREIGN MILITARY RELATIONS
Working relationships with the military establishments in a
wide range of foreign countries were an important facet of
Yugoslavia's nonaligned foreign policy. Maintenance of such links
guaranteed flexibility in dealing with unforeseen events and
provided maximum access to advanced foreign military technology.
However, by 1990 foreign military ties had become a major source
of domestic political controversy.
The Yugoslav military had a longstanding relationship with
its Soviet counterpart. Between 1945 and 1948, the Soviet
military had a strong formative influence on the new Yugoslav
army. The Soviet model was followed in organization, training,
and even uniform style. The Soviet Union built some of the first
military infrastructure, including airfields, command posts, and
coastal gun emplacements, for the Tito government. Although
damaged by Tito's 1948 break with Stalin, military ties were
renewed quickly after Soviet-Yugoslav relations were normalized
in 1956. Annual bilateral exchanges began between the general
staffs of the two countries.
Although such cooperation gave the Soviet Union considerable
influence with the Yugoslav military, Yugoslavia rebuffed Soviet
requests for formal naval base access and airfield landing
rights, offering instead case-by-case consideration. Landing
rights were granted Soviet aircraft during the 1967 and 1973
Middle East wars. Yugoslavia established a regular contract to
maintain and repair Soviet submarines and submarine tenders in
its shipyard at Kotor. Military ties to other countries including
the United States served to balance these accommodations to the
Soviets. The federal secretary for national defense last made an
official visit to Washington in 1984.
Data as of December 1990
|
