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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Pristina major obstacle to improving regional cooperation

Belgrade/Helsinki, 30 August 2019

First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said today that Serbia expects the EU to take decisive steps to influence Pristina to give up unilateral moves and allow dialogue to continue and contribute to easing the tensions in the region.

Dacic reiterated at an informal meeting of foreign ministers of EU member states, "partners from the Western Balkans" and Turkey, that full membership in the European Union is Serbia's key foreign policy priority.

He pointed out that the format in which today's meeting was convened is artificial, because it was not based on EU criteria for gaining candidate status, and is a kind of precedent.

If the purpose of the meeting is to foster regional cooperation in the Western Balkans, or to "reset regional dynamics", it remains unclear how this meeting can contribute to fostering regional cooperation when it is clear to all participants that Pristina's behaviour is a major obstacle to improving regional cooperation at the moment, Dacic emphasised.

Failure to comply with the Brussels Agreement, flagrant breach of CEFTA by imposing 100% draconian fees on products from central Serbia and BiH, attempting to build an army against a valid UN Security Council Resolution 1244, attempting to curb historical facts and misuse of cultural heritage, restricting freedom of movement for officials to the citizens of central Serbia in Kosovo-Metohija and the like, in this sense, they can by no means represent steps towards fostering regional cooperation, Dacic said.

According to Dacic, our side strongly supports the dialogue on normalisation of relations with Pristina, and the gross violation of CEFTA by the temporary institutions of self-government in Pristina deserves stronger condemnation and must be urgently suspended.