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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Spain strongly backs integrity, sovereignty of Serbia

Belgrade, 13 March 2019

First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic expressed his gratitude to Spain today for its strong support to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia, which is a matter of the greatest national interest for our country.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of the Kingdom of Spain Josep Borrell, Dacic said that Serbia provides firm support to the territorial integrity of that country and opposes attempts at internationalising the Catalan issue.

He underlined that Serbia did not allow the opening of a diplomatic office of Catalonia in Serbia, which would have a notion of statehood, but that such an office was opened in Zagreb though.

Support to the territorial integrity is a matter of the highest national interest for Serbia, and it is very important that Spain, as a large EU member state, has not recognised the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo, the First Deputy Prime Minister said.

According to Dacic, Serbia and Spain are traditionally friendly countries, which have good relations and cooperation at all levels, with the trend of improving regular relations.

Foreign trade between Serbia and Spain is between €450 million and €500 million, Dacic said, adding that the exchange is higher than it used to be, but that it is relatively small compared to the opportunities that exist.

That is why Serbia impatiently awaits an economic forum in Madrid scheduled for the second half of this year, which will be used for further improvement of economic relations.

Also, the First Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia welcomed the decision to introduce regular Belgrade-Madrid and Belgrade-Barcelona flights, pointing out that Serbia and Spain are present together in multilateral peacekeeping operations, such as those in Lebanon, where 117 Serbian Army troops are part of the Spanish battalion.

Borrell underlined that Spain's position on the non-recognition of the unilaterally proclaimed independence of Kosovo is clear and that Madrid believes that only through dialogue can a permanent solution on this issue be found.

He stated that Spain is committed to peace in the Balkans and that it believes in dialogue as the best way to overcome the existing problems in the region.