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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Serbia wants resolving outstanding issues in Kosovo through dialogue

Belgrade/New York, 16 November 2016

First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic condemned the attempted confiscation of "Trepca" by the provisional institutions of self-government in Pristina, as well as the looting of private property of Kosovo Serbs and the Serbian Orthodox Church.

Speaking at a UN Security Council session in New York, he said that Serbia expects member states of the UN Security Council to use their authority to repeal the Law on Trepca adopted by the provisional institutions of self-government in Pristina.

He added that, otherwise, Kosovo-Metohija will become a "black hole" of Europe, where private property is absolutely unprotected.

In the interest of regional stability, we will continue the dialogue with Pristina, primarily in order to solve life problems of the people who live in Kosovo, Dacic said.

The role of the international community is to assist in reaching a compromise, and not to help one side to impose their interests, said Dacic.

The First Deputy Prime Minister stressed that Serbia will never recognise the unilaterally proclaimed independence of Kosovo, but will continue the policy of peaceful resolution of this issue, based on a responsible approach and with the full implementation of the agreements reached in the framework of the Brussels dialogue.

Dacic said that Serbia, despite numerous challenges and frequent absence of constructive approach, will remain devoted to work on the normalisation of relations.

We do not want the situation in Kosovo to be a latent threat to the stability and progress of Serbia and the region, and that is why we are committed to continue to engage in the peaceful settlement of disputes, yet we are aware that we have a long-term process, said Dacic.

He also called on countries that have not recognised the unilaterally proclaimed independence of Kosovo to resist the pressures that many of them suffer and to remain consistent in their principled respect for international law, the UN Charter and the supreme authority of the UN Security Council to preserve international peace and security, whose Resolution 1244 reaffirmed the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Serbia.

He pointed out that Serbia wants an opportunity for dialogue and agreement rather than unilateralism.

The First Deputy Prime Minister reiterated that Serbia is sincerely committed to peace, dialogue, reconciliation and regional stability, i.e., lasting solutions that will lead to the future rather than past conflicts.