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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Foreign policy priorities remain unchanged

Belgrade, 2 January 2013

Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivan Mrkic said today that the priorities of the Serbian diplomacy in 2013 are preserving the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia, pursuing the EU integration route and developing closer relations with Washington, Moscow, Beijing and other international partners.

Author: Tanjug

In an interview with the Tanjug news agency Mrkic pointed out that, in parallel with the membership in the EU, the main national issue for Serbia is resolving the Kosovo problem, adding that in that respect the policy of continuity remains in force.

He said that the government has worked to implement the agreements reached in Brussels, and added that the EU partners could see that Belgrade is a serious and effective partner.

The government has thus gained credibility, he said noting that Belgrade entered a higher level of dialogue at a high political level with Pristina in order to solve the fundamental issues.

When it comes to whether Serbia will get a date to start negotiations with the EU during the Irish presidency, which runs from 1 January to 1 July 2013, the Minister said that the text of the conclusions of the European Council gives grounds for optimism.

Mrkic expressed confidence that Brussels will recognise the efforts of Serbia in the implementation of reforms, the fight against corruption and organised crime, and improving the judiciary.

In any case, if Serbia does not get a date during the Irish presidency, I do not expect problems during the presidency of Lithuania, which is the only one that has not yet ratified the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between Serbia and EU, he said.

When it comes to relations with Washington, Mrkic expressed confidence that we will have the best possible cooperation with the newly appointed US Secretary of State John Kerry.

There are many areas where we cooperate closely with the United States and those areas of cooperation are expanding. We expect productive talks with Kerry and strengthening cooperation with Washington that is over 130 years long. There is much that connects us, and we will insist on it in the future, he said.

As for the attitude of the United States as regards the autonomy of Serbs in Kosovo, Mrkic said that he believes that Washington recognises the fact that the Serb community in the southern province must be seen in a special way.

I think that, as time passes, Washington will have more understanding for our positions as our positions are reasonable and they are not designed to do harm to anyone. They are in the interest of the Albanians in Kosovo and in line with our commitment to continue talks with Pristina, mediated by EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy Catherine Ashton, said Mrkic.

Speaking on relations with Moscow, the Minister announced that a strategic partnership agreement between Serbia and Russia will be signed during the forthcoming meeting of heads of the two countries.

Mrkic confirmed the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Serbia at the beginning of building the pipeline "South Stream", but has not been specified the date.

He pointed out that a great attention is attached to relations in the region and added that representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs made contact with representatives of neighbouring countries in order to achieve concrete agreements on cooperation development.

The Minister pointed out that so far he met with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Croatia Vesna Pusic twice, with whom he had useful discussions on many topics.

Mrkic confirmed that the meetings of prime ministers and presidents of Serbia and Croatia will be organised once there is enough concrete material for such meetings.