Foreign Minister: Serbia’s Stance Crystal Clear

Ivica Dacic, Serbian Foreign Minister (BETAPHOTO/MILAN OBRADOVIC)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said on Feb. 18 that Belgrade's stance in the dialogue with Pristina was "crystal clear," stating that there would be no further talks until the Brussels Agreement was fulfilled, and that Kosovo's membership in international organizations and its international recognition were both unacceptable.

Speaking for Euronews Serbia at the Munich Security Conference after a panel discussion behind closed doors on the Western Balkans, Dacic said he had told the participants that Serbia wanted peace, but that it was particularly galling to hear everyone talk about the principle of territorial integrity without including Serbia. Dacic recounted that he had said during the panel discussion that the subject was not new and had been considered ten years ago at the same conference in Munich and other similar ones, and that he had participated on behalf of Serbia "in a European project called the Brussels Agreement."

On the topic of the effects of the war in Ukraine on Serbia's position, Dacic said he had been present during a meeting between Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic with EU High Representative Josep Borrell and that "they are really becoming quite unpleasant when speaking about demanding that Serbia join sanctions, that is, align its foreign policy with the EU's."

"We're trying not to let anyone draw us into that crisis and that is why I think it is a good thing that I called the foreign minister of Moldova right away and asked him to have the president [of Moldova Maia Sandu] reach out to President Vucic, so we don't generate needless conflict that realistically has nothing to do with us -- concerning suspicions that people from Serbia are taking part in action against the Moldovan authorities on behalf of Russia," Dacic said.