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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Reducution of UNMIK presence in Kosovo unacceptable

Belgrade/New York, 27 August 2016

First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic said yesterday that at a meeting with Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon, he discussed his report on the situation in Kosovo-Metohija.

Author: mfa.gov.rs

Dacic said that he pointed out that Serbia insists that the UN Mission in Kosovo - UNMIK remains in an unaltered mandate and with unchanged composition, with the same number of employees and the budget, since it has a very important role in Kosovo.

The First Deputy Prime Minister said that the interim authorities in Pristina are trying, and are highlighting that at every session of the Security Council, that this mission should leave Kosovo.

The Serbian people and other non-Albanian communities have confidence solely in the UN mission and therefore its presence in the southern Serbian province is of great importance, he stressed.

Dacic said that Ban Ki-moon showed interested in the course of the Brussels dialogue, and that he pointed to him once more the vital importance of the formation of the Community of Serbian Municipalities (JCC) as defined by the Brussels agreement, which was signed long ago.

According to him, the interim authorities in Pristina are constantly finding reasons to delay the formation of the Community of Serbian municipalities, which is crucial for the continuation of dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina.

Dacic highlighted the actions of some countries, which can be heard at the meetings of the Security Council, which invite other countries to recognise the unilaterally proclaimed independence of Kosovo, noting that this may adversely affect the Brussels dialogue.

Dacic pointed out that Resolution UN Security Council Resolution 1244, regardless of the fact that it was adopted in 1999, is still a valid document, based on which the UN Mission is deployed in Kosovo-Metohija, and on the other hand, it is the only legally binding document adopted by the UN.

Serbia therefore considers that the dialogue must continue and we will not accept any policy of fait accompli, he said.

Author: mfa.gov.rs

The First Deputy Prime Minister said that Ban Ki-moon conveyed greetings to Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and President of Serbia Tomislav Nikolic.

Also, he said that the UN Secretary General expressed his appreciation for what our country has done for this world organisation – it united all agencies, the programme and the overall administration of the UN in one place by opening a house of the United Nations in Belgrade.

He said that Ban Ki-moon welcomed the participation of Serbian soldiers in the UN peacekeeping missions, and added that in this field, our country is a leader in the region.

This is boosting the credibility of Serbia and its armed forces, and of security forces overall, because these are not combat missions, and we are very happy to take part in such international missions that protect peace and stability in the world, Dacic underlined.