Interview of Minister Dačić for Kurir TV
Ivica Dačić, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, answers these questions during the morning program on the Kurir Television.
- It gives a big headache to everyone in the international community to define Kurti's policy at this moment. He follows up on everything we say. I once said that everyone in the international community complained about him and then he complained to them that everyone was gossiping about him and that they were on our side. He doesn't seem to understand the situation at all. When everyone jumped on him to twist his hands and pull out his ears, he did realize that there were some mechanisms out there to exert some pressure on the so-called Kosovo.
Ivica Dačic pointed out that the determination of the Serbian people that manifested in the abandonment of the Kosovo institutions by the Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija significantly contributed to placing an international pressure on Kurti.
- Serbian people showed certain determination at the moment and the fact that the Serbs left Kosovo institutions was a much bigger blow than many think. These Serbs were the actual representatives of the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija, although there were some so-called Thaci's Serbs who generally did participate in the institutions. The Serbs offered resistance after a whole series of unilateral moves, such as the introduction of the Kosovo army and the attempted incursion of the Kosovo security forces into the North Kosovo. In the end, it turned out that the Serbs, namely the Serbian police officers in Kosovo, should charge fines against the Serbs who did not re-register their license plates - said Ivica Dačić and added that he considered Priština's request to libel the license plates as "Republic of Kosovo" unrealistic.
- This is where we come to an interesting situation. Why do some people insist so much on writing "Republic of Kosovo" everywhere? When we played football yesterday, was there anywhere a sign stating the Republic of Serbia or the Republic of Brazil? Do you know why this is insisted upon? The reason is that someone insists on something that does not exist at all! They want to promote Kosovo's statehood with every move they make- said Ivica Dačić.
The Minister assessed the foreign policy of the European Union as ineffective.
- The EU has been suffering for years from having an ineffective foreign policy. That Brussels agreement was one of few successes of foreign policy. Immediately after its signing, at the end of 2013, there was a change in the European Commission and Catherine Ashton was replaced by Federica Mogherini. The institution was losing its strength every day.
The problem is not Josep Borelj or Lajčak, but the EU as a whole because they do not have a unified policy in many segments. They do not have this policy when it comes to migration or asylum seekers, so someone feels that they have no obligation to respect the agreements where the EU is an intermediary – Ivica Dačić states and adds that, for years now, Serbia has fulfilled all the obligations provided for in the Brussels Agreement, while Priština has not fulfilled any of them, the most important being the Community of Serbian municipalities.
The Minister Ivica Dačić pointed out that the role of the USA in the negotiations was crucial.
- No conflict has ever been resolved only between the two forces participating in that conflict. For example, the Dayton Agreement was reached due to the intervention of the USA. It is known where key decisions are made and that is why we need to build correct relations - believes Ivica Dačić.
The introduction of sanctions against Russia
Ivica Dačić assessed that the introduction of sanctions against Russia could not be Serbia's policy if we wanted to defend Kosovo and Metohija.
- When we talk about Russia, let your emotions go. Me first, I have no special feelings towards Russia. I have such feelings for Serbia. But, if we want to discuss Kosovo in the UN, who will vote for us? Will it be Germany and the USA or Russia and China? We have to take care of that. I was in Qatar yesterday; do you think Qatar imposed sanctions on Russia? - said Ivica Dačić and concluded:
- It is not possible for us to state that we do not recognize Kosovo's independence and then impose sanctions on Russia. It simply doesn't go together. We can only say that we no longer insist on Kosovo, so we join the sanctions against Russia.
World Cup in Qatar
The Minister Ivica Dačić finally touched upon the World Cup in Qatar, where he attended the match between Serbia and Brazil, yesterday.
- I went with the fans. It wasn't much of an atmosphere on the way back, though it was on the way to Qatar. I think there were about 88,000 people. The elite of world football were present on the spot. There was even Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State. They were looking for and invited guests from all countries, and that was one of the reasons why Minister Gajić and I went - says Ivica Dačić.
About the match between Serbia and Brazil, Minister Ivica Dačić said, in a joke:
- It often happened that we started victoriously against some serious teams and then lost to some outsiders. Now let's change that a bit. We started badly against a strong team, so now let us beat Cameroon, and then Switzerland.
Source/Photo: Kurir.rs