Serbian FM: Belgrade’s Relations with other Countries Will Be according to Their Votes on Kosovo’s Bid for CoE Membership

Ivica Dacic (BETAPHOTO/FOREIGN MINISTRY/Ognjen Stevanovic/MO)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic on April 25 said that Belgrade’s relations with certain countries would depend on how they had voted at the April 24 session of the Ministerial Committee of the Council of Europe (CoE) in Strasbourg on initiating the accession process of Kosovo in the CoE.

“Montenegro could have at least withheld its vote. We have to act reciprocally. Montenegro voted for Kosovo’s membership. They will need our vote someday, but they will definitely not be able to count on it,” Dacic told Serbian state broadcaster RTS.

Dacic also said he was unpleasantly surprised by Ukraine, recalling that Serbia had condemned violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity in all resolutions worldwide, while Kiev abstained from voting at the session.

“As regards Bosnia and Herzegovina, has there been any statement I have given without mentioning territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina? In the future, when the issue is raised, we will withhold our vote. Why support Bosnia and Herzegovina’s territorial integrity when they abstain from voting,” Dacic noted.

He also wondered why certain countries abstained from voting and whether they recognized or not independence of Kosovo.

“Greece and Slovakia surprised me. The Greek minister has attended President Aleksandar Vucic’s Slava [family’s saint patron’s day]. The Greek president has been stating that Athens does not recognize Kosovo’s independence,” Dacic recalled.

Dacic thanked all the countries which had voted against and had thereby shown that they were friends of Serbia, naming Cyprus, Romania, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. He extended particular thanks to Hungary, noting that Budapest had recognized Kosovo’s independence, but had voted against its membership in the CoE.

Speaking about the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, Dacic stressed that no provisions of the Ohrid Agreement would be implemented before creation of an Association/Community of Serb-majority Municipalities. “Not only that the Ohrid Agreement is no longer valid, but creation of an Association/Community of Serb-majority Municipalities is the first provision of the Ohrid Agreement. If there is no Association, then there can be no other provisions of the Agreement,” Dacic stressed.