Starović: The meetings during Scholz's visit to Belgrade will be very substantive

Speaking on Radio Television of Serbia, Starović said that the next day would be dynamic not only in Serbia but in the entire region and the visit of the German Chancellor to Belgrade would be very important and very substantive, though not long, as well as that the most important meetings would be with President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić.

Starović stressed that the most represented topics during tomorrow's meetings would be economy and economic cooperation, an area of ​​cooperation in which Serbia has been very successful because Germany has been Serbia's number one foreign trade partner and most foreign direct investments come from that country.

“Having regard to the importance of economic cooperation, it is logical that our political cooperation is becoming increasingly important to us,” Starović said.
The State Secretary stated that the issue of Kosovo and Metohija was a major issue on which the two countries had a substantial and serious disagreement, and added that he had moderate optimism and hope that they would find the least common denominator, i.e. a common view that it was necessary to maintain peace and stability on the Balkan Peninsula despite different political visions or views.
“I believe it is possible to reach that kind of consensus with Chancellor Scholz and that this will be a serious topic of tomorrow's talks,” Starović said.

He said that he expected Chancellor Scholz to reiterate the need for Serbia to join the sanctions regime against Russia, but believed that Chancellor Scholz would understand the argument that the possible imposition of sanctions on Russia would quite certainly inflict much more harm to Serbia than to Russia. 
“Some time ago, speaking about the sanctions that Germany and its EU partners were imposing on Russia, Chancellor Scholz said that the sanctions must be serious and severe, but that they must not do more damage to Germany than to Russia. We can understand that argument and we hope that it can be applied to our case as well,” said Starović.

According to him, Serbia's position is clear, principled and defined by the conclusions of the National Security Council of 25 February, which Serbia firmly adheres to.
Starović emphasised that among the universal principles and values ​​that Serbia firmly adhered to, the most important was respect for the territorial integrity of internationally recognised states, and the second most important were the vital national interests of Serbia, including protecting its territorial integrity and providing a better life for all citizens.
“The path to it leads through EU membership,” Starović added.