Commemoration held for Ambassador Miroslav Lazanski: "He was a star of our time"

Family, friends and colleagues are saying goodbye today to Miroslav Lazanski, who passed away suddenly on Wednesday at the age of 71 while serving as Serbia's ambassador to Russia.

There was a huge crowd of people in the hall in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where the commemoration was organized. In addition to family members, the ceremony also saw participation from Minister for European Integration Jadranka Joksimovic, Minister without Portfolio Nenad Popovic, Serbian Ambassador to the US Marko Djuric...

There was a bouquet of white roses and the Serbian tricolor placed next to a photograph of Miroslav Lazanski.

The commemoration was also attended by Marko Milacic, a politician from Montenegro and the leader of the Prava Crna Gora party, Arno Gujon (Arnaud Gouillon), head of the Directorate for Cooperation with the Diaspora and Serbs in the Region, and many others.

Nemanja Starovic, the MFA secretary, spoke about Lazanski's professional career, journalism and diplomacy, and his professional challenges.

Journalist Ljiljana Smajlovic said goodbye to her colleague with moving words:

"He never drew a target on anyone, nor was he hitting below the belt. He was one of the most widely read journalists. He was a star of our time! An editor once told me that the readers called him and complained that Laza's (Lazanski's) column had not been published yet... We would have been happy if we had at least half as many readers," said Ljiljana.

During her speech, Smajlovic revealed that Lazanski's interview with Vladimir Putin was special to him and that the Russian president revealed something to him that he had not done before.

"During the interview, Miroslav Lazanski asked Putin to hold a copy of Politika for a photo shoot, that did not happen, but Laza did not give up. Putin came to Serbia and Laza managed to reach him during the formal reception and give him Politika, and then managed to get the photo. He was fearless. An exceptional phenomenon," said Smajlovic.

Journalist Ljubinka Milincic said:

"It's the third day since Lazanski died. We did not want to believe it, we waited for it to be confirmed once again. Unfortunately, it's true. We, of course, knew each other for a very long time. I remember, when I informed my colleagues that Lazanski was joining the newsroom, they asked what he was going to do. I said, 'Let him do what he wants, he's Lazanski!' And so it was. Everything he did increased circulation. These days, we note with sadness that Lazanski is increasing newspaper circulation for the last time."

"It should be stressed that Lazanski did everything he did with great love - I think that is the key to his success," she said.

Lazanski will be buried today at 2 p.m. at the New Cemetery in Belgrade, and will rest in the Alley of Deserving Citizens.

An electronic Book of Mourning has also been opened at protocol@mfa.rs.

(Telegraf.rs)