This Article is From Dec 05, 2012

Serbia's NATO ambassador leaps to death: officials

Serbia's NATO ambassador leaps to death: officials

In this file photo, Serbia's Ambassador to NATO Branislav Milinkovic is seen during a meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.

Brussels: Officials say Serbia's ambassador to NATO committed suicide by leaping from a busy parking garage platform at Brussels Airport.

A Serbian government statement said on Wednesday that the envoy, Branislav Milinkovic, 52, died instantly on Tuesday night.

A diplomat who could not be identified because he was not authorised to speak to the media said Milinkovic suddenly jumped from the 8- to 10-meter-high (26- to 33-foot-high) platform while waiting with the Serbian delegation for foreign ministry officials due to hold talks with NATO officials.

Serbia is not a member of the military alliance, but has a mission in the headquarters complex. Milinkovic, a former journalist, previously served as Serbia's ambassador to Austria.

The death occurred during two days of meetings of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels.
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