Serbian President Says Will Not Attend Council of Europe Summit in Reykjavik

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic (BETAPHOTO/MILOS MISKOV)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said after a May 12 meeting with the European Union’s special representative for the Serbia-Kosovo Dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, that he was concerned about the situation in Kosovo, and that he would not be attending the 4th Summit of the Council of Europe in Reykjavik, Iceland, on May 16 and May 17.

At a news conference Vucic said that he was deeply concerned about the situation in the north of Kosovo and Metohija, and that the reason for his concern was Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s “passionate need to provoke conflicts.”

The president said that he had decided that Serbia should be represented at the Summit on a lower level, and that he would not be going to Reykjavik, because he had received signals that Serbia’s amendment on the territorial integrity of all members of the Council would not be accepted, and that he was prepared to bear the consequences of his decision.

“We have submitted an amendment suggesting that when the territorial integrity of Ukraine, Georgia or Moldova is mentioned in the document, the words ‘as well as of all other members of the Council of Europe’ should be added. This is merely a principle, we didn’t ask for more,” Vucic explained.