Dacic: Cooperation Treaty with ASEAN is significant, most of the member countries do not recognize Kosovo

Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic stated that in recent times, Serbia had made joining regional initiatives a priority, one of which was the accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation with ASEAN, emphasizing its importance for the country, especially considering that out of the ten member states of this organization, six had not recognized Kosovo, as reported by RTS.

Ivica Dacic noted that there had never been a consensus, and for the first time this year, all ASEAN countries had expressed their support.

"Today, I signed this accession instrument. Serbia is the 52nd country to do so," Dacic added.

He pointed out that, among other countries, all major powers had joined the treaty, including the United States, Russia, and even the European Union as an organization.

"We lagged behind something that others had done long ago. Why is this important? Out of ten countries, six have not recognized Kosovo, and I think some recognized it because we were not present enough in the region. These are countries with 600 million people and a combined GDP of trillions of dollars. We have about 700 million dollars in trade with ASEAN, and we expect it to exceed a billion dollars this year and the next," Dacic stated.

He stressed that this was an important mechanism for Serbia to be present in the economic and cultural aspects, but the most crucial aspects were political.

"These are friendly countries dating back to the time of Tito and the Non-Aligned Movement. Indonesia has 300 million people... All these countries are exceptionally big; this is a significant step," Dacic added.

He also emphasized that it did not affect Serbia's fundamental commitment to European integration and was not in conflict with what had been signed today.

"This is accession to their treaty; we are not a member state," Dacic pointed out.

Regarding Serbia's position on the conflict in Ukraine, Dacic said it was an indicator of how correct Serbia's policy had been, and that most of the ASEAN member countries had condemned the aggression but had not imposed sanctions.

"All these countries have condemned the violation of Ukraine's territorial integrity, but most of them have not imposed sanctions on Russia. They simply have their own interests and worldviews, and all of them are present here at the ASEAN summit. Presidents of the United States, Russia, and China often attend. That's why I believe Serbia has gained a lot from this. We are present for the first time, and we will be constantly present at events like this," Dacic concluded.