BELGRADE, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) would soon open a liaison office in Belgrade to enable speedier and more efficient communication between the alliance and Serbia, a senior Serbian official said on Thursday.

    The office will enable better coordination between the Serbian Defense Ministry and other authorized ministries "in the realization of integration processes, which is the priority objective of the state," Serbian Assistant Defense Minister Snezana Samardzic Markovic said in an interview to the national news agency Tanjug.

    Serbia is hoping to join NATO's Partnership for Peace program, which is considered a stepping-stone to full alliance membership. The only obstacle facing Serbia is the arrest and extradition of war crimes suspects, notably former Bosnian Serb army commander Ratko Mladic.

    The first step is an exchange of letters of intent between NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and Serbian Defense Minister Zoran Stankovic about what the NATO office should do and what is within whose jurisdiction, said Markovic, who is in charge of defense policy.

    In addition to the better and speedier communication with NATO, the opening of its office is also important because of the implementation of the signed agreement on transit arrangements of NATO troops through Serbia, she said.