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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Unified fight against terrorism necessary

Belgrade, 2 December 2015

First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic, who is also OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, said tonight that it is regrettable that the fight against terrorism at this moment is not unified.

Author: Tanjug

Speaking at a joint press conference with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergei Lavrov, whom he received at the Nikola Tesla airport in Belgrade, Dacic condemned the shooting down of a Russian plane that was on the anti-terrorist operation in Syria.

He said that we must not allow those who say they are fighting against the Islamic State to harm each other, as was the case with the shooting down of the Russian plane.

The First Deputy Prime Minister expressed his satisfaction that the OSCE Ministerial Council is being held in Belgrade, recalling that this is the biggest political event in Serbia from the Non-Aligned Summit in 1989.

Taking into account the number of foreign ministers who have come to our country, it is a great recognition for Serbia, Dacic said and added that 44 foreign ministers will participate in the meeting. Dacic said he was especially pleased that Lavrov arrived and that he will participate in the meeting in Belgrade.

Some of the most important decisions that are expected to be made at this meeting are the decision on migration, fight against terrorism, the freedom of media and various other topics that are on the agenda, he explained.

The First Deputy Prime Minister added that he hopes that Serbia has managed to contribute to appeasing the situation in Ukraine during its OSCE Chairmanship, in the year that was not easy and was marked by a series of conflicts.

Dacic specifically referred to the migrant crisis, terrorist acts all over Europe, from Paris, through the crash of the Russian aircraft, to Tunisia and Beirut, stating that these are the issues that will certainly be topical during the Belgrade meeting, and about which Lavrov will have many discussions with his colleagues.

Lavrov said he is ready to meet with Foreign Minister of Turkey Mevlut Cavusoglu on the margins of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Belgrade.

We wish to clarify the Turkish position, since they insist on this meeting and to hear what they want to say, in addition to what they say publicly, Lavrov said, adding that Russia has to pose some questions to Turkey.

He said that if the act of shooting down the Russian aircraft by the Turkish Air Force was designed to undermine efforts to create a united front against the Islamic State, then it has failed.

Lavrov said that Russia proposes to close Turkish-Syrian and Turkish-Iraqi borders in order to cut the illegal flow of oil through which the Islamic state is being funded and explained that the voluntary Kurdish forces can be used for this on both sides since they are allies of the coalition led by the United States of America.

If the Islamic State tries to prevent the formation of these barriers, I am sure that the Russian Air Force, together with the anti-terrorist coalition, led by the United States of America, will be able to provide air support and prevent such attempts, Lavrov underlined.