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Ministerial declaration in Sofia includes Serbia’s stance
Belgrade/Sofia,
11 March 2008
State Secretary at the Serbian Ministry of Defence Dusan Spasojevic said that at today’s meeting of defence ministers from South East Europe held in Sofia the issue of Kosovo-Metohija was understood precisely in the light in which Serbia sees it and wants it to be seen.
In a telephone interview for the news agency Tanjug, Spasojevic said that in Sofia Serbia’s stance was supported by the majority of the countries participating in the meeting, which is yet another diplomatic victory.
He stressed that the meeting was attended by defence ministers of Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Moldova, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania, and Serbia presented its principled stance that it does not agree with the policy of imposing solutions in South East Europe.
We told them that we do not accept artificial deadlines and it is dangerous to resolve ethnic conflicts or matters which relate to national minorities’ right to self determination by breaking up sovereign states, said Spasojevic.
According to Spasojevic, Serbia’s voice on the issue of Kosovo-Metohija was loud and clear at the meeting.
The joint declaration adopted at the meeting fully included Serbia’s stance which is a triumph for us, perhaps at the most important level – the level of our own region, said the State Secretary.
He said that it was concluded at the meeting that European integration is the only way forward for South East Europe and that the future of the entire region, including Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Albania, is indeed in EU membership.
Spasojevic explained that it was jointly concluded at the meeting that regional military and defence cooperation is improving rapidly and participation by all the countries in the region in the Partnership for Peace programme has contributed a lot to this.
The State Secretary stressed that Serbia emphasised its commitment to regional cooperation and participation in all forms of regional cooperation initiatives, and Serbia’s contribution in this context was highly praised.
The topic of the forum, which was organised by the South East European Cooperation Process (SEECP), was “Defence policy for security, cooperation and development of South-eastern Europe”.
The SEECP was founded in 1996, on Bulgaria’s initiative, and is one of the oldest among current regional initiatives.
He stressed that the meeting was attended by defence ministers of Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Moldova, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania, and Serbia presented its principled stance that it does not agree with the policy of imposing solutions in South East Europe.
We told them that we do not accept artificial deadlines and it is dangerous to resolve ethnic conflicts or matters which relate to national minorities’ right to self determination by breaking up sovereign states, said Spasojevic.
According to Spasojevic, Serbia’s voice on the issue of Kosovo-Metohija was loud and clear at the meeting.
The joint declaration adopted at the meeting fully included Serbia’s stance which is a triumph for us, perhaps at the most important level – the level of our own region, said the State Secretary.
He said that it was concluded at the meeting that European integration is the only way forward for South East Europe and that the future of the entire region, including Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Albania, is indeed in EU membership.
Spasojevic explained that it was jointly concluded at the meeting that regional military and defence cooperation is improving rapidly and participation by all the countries in the region in the Partnership for Peace programme has contributed a lot to this.
The State Secretary stressed that Serbia emphasised its commitment to regional cooperation and participation in all forms of regional cooperation initiatives, and Serbia’s contribution in this context was highly praised.
The topic of the forum, which was organised by the South East European Cooperation Process (SEECP), was “Defence policy for security, cooperation and development of South-eastern Europe”.
The SEECP was founded in 1996, on Bulgaria’s initiative, and is one of the oldest among current regional initiatives.
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