Keepin touch

Whether you have a question, comment, suggestion or any problem in the purview of the government, send us your message and we will try to respond as soon as possible. If your problem is not in our purview, we will forward your message to the relevant institution.

The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Continuation of reforms, dialogue with Pristina preconditions for getting closer to EU

Belgrade, 28 December 2012

Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivan Mrkic said today that Serbia's relations with its neighbours are not at a standstill, and underlined that Serbia is clearly committed to expanding and enriching cooperation with countries in its immediate surroundings.

In an interview to Beta news agency, Mrkic said that in the past five months Serbia continued to implement the reform agenda related to European integration, and expressed confidence that the results of these processes are very clearly recognised in Brussels.

According to him, the proof for this are the Conclusions of the European Council that were adopted recently, which are positive for Serbia and opened the possibility for getting a date for starting membership negotiations with the EU.

The Foreign Minister said that Brussels highly appreciates the seriousness and constructive attitude which the Serbian government demonstrates in dialogue with Pristina.

The continuation of the reform processes, especially in the judicial system and the fight against corruption and organised crime on the one hand and dialogue with Pristina on the other, will create preconditions for Serbia's further approximation to the EU. I think it is less important whether that will happen in March or June, Mrkic said.

He said that Serbia is clearly committed to reaching the highest possible level of relationships and cooperation with the countries in its immediate surroundings.

With all countries in the region we had a series of bilateral meetings at the highest level and initiated not only a regular political dialogue, but various concrete proposals for cooperation in the areas of common interest, Mrkic said.

He underlined that the acquittals of Croatian generals by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) hamper the process of reconciliation in the region, primarily because they impose the impression of selective justice, blind to the worst crimes, but do not close the possibility of talks with Croatia on mutual withdrawal of genocide charges before the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

Mrkic said that a public debate on the role of the ICTY scheduled for 10 April 2013 in the UN General Assembly is an opportunity for Serbia to present its views to the international public about the work of international tribunals and added that Serbia expects the adoption of an official document in the form of conclusions.

Speaking about relations with Russia, Mrkic said that Serbia’s agreement on strategic partnership with Russia is in the final phase of harmonisation and that it will be ready for signing soon.

Mrkic said that the position of Serbia on the unacceptability and illegality of Kosovo's secession has a very broad and general support of most countries in the world and it is one of the priorities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to keep it that way.

He pointed out that some very powerful countries have an opposite view from Serbia and they are very active in lobbying for recognition of Kosovo's independence.

Despite their efforts, the process of recognising the independence of Kosovo has been slowed down. Most countries in the world still hold the position of primacy and respect for international law, Mrkic said.

The Foreign Minister stated that Serbia's foreign policy priorities in 2013 are clear and well-known – a further strengthening of relations and forms of cooperation with the neighbouring countries, the continuation of the process of European integration, strengthening and deepening relations with the major capitals of the world and with countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, as well as the preservation of sovereignty and national integrity of the country and a willingness to resolve disputes through political means and dialogue.