Djuric: Serbia offers a hand, but does not accept the trampling on Resolution 1244 or the violation of the rights of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija

13. Jun 2024.
At the South East European Cooperation Process Summit in Skopje, Serbia sent a strong message that it is extending a hand, that it is open to a new type of relations in the region, but also that it does not agree to trampling on UN Security Council Resolution 1244, nor to the violation of the rights of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, Minister of Foreign Affairs Marko Djuric stated.

"Today in Skopje was a good day for regional cooperation. Serbia sends a strong message of an extended hand and openness to a new type of relations in the region", Djuric told reporters.

He noted that the dynamic growth achieved in the past decade was primarily based on the strength of a single regional market.

"We need to build stronger infrastructure, and Serbia is a front-runner in this area", Djuric added.

Djuric noted that the situation in Kosovo and Metohija was discussed in Skopje, and that he clearly pointed out the inadmissibility of trampling on the UN Charter and trampling on UN Security Council Resolution 1244.

"I pointed out explicitly in front of the leaders of Southeast Europe the violation of the human rights of the Serbian population in Kosovo and Metohija by Pristina institutions, the systematic trampling on domestic and international acts, and the creation of an impossible climate for our people. Because the truth needs to be known. We should always talk about an extended hand and cooperation, but also point out that there are some problems", the Serbian Foreign Minister emphasized.

He noted that this did not sit well with the representatives of Pristina.

"But our job is to bring to light what the facts are, while they try to distort that picture with their narratives", Djuric pointed out.

The Minister said that he was pleased that Serbia's voice was loudly heard in Skopje today, showing that the country firmly upholds an international order based on the rule of law and democracy, both domestically and regionally, and aims to help strengthen economic and social mobility, keeping young people in our region.

"Such summits are not just venues for a lot of empty talk, but also for concrete agreements on matters such as common and unified road tolls in our region or lanes for shorter waiting times at borders, and much more that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, among other things, initiated through the Open Balkan process", Djuric added.

Therefore, he said, at the Summit in Skopje, Serbia continued to implement the vision of President Vucic for a united, cohesive region focused on economic growth, cooperation, but also a region where "things are called by their real names" and where problems are discussed honestly.

"We are not here to win a debate, but to solve problems", Djuric concluded.