Dacic: If it is true that Kosovo will be admitted to the Council of Europe, I will not go to Strasbourg

Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic said today that he had no intention of traveling to Strasbourg on Tuesday on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Serbia's admission to the Council of Europe, if the procedure for Kosovo's admission to that institution would be initiated a day later, reports RTV.

He said at the press conference after the meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Gabon, Yolande Nyonda, that on the 10th anniversary of the Brussels Agreement, it was announced that the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe would start the procedure for Kosovo's admission to that institution.

"What kind of message is that? It's a humiliation and a message that Kosovo can do whatever it wants. If those announcements are true, I will certainly not go to Strasbourg tomorrow," said Dacic and added that "something that is not a state has never been admitted to the Council of Europe ".

He pointed out that it was impossible to defend the territorial integrity of Ukraine on the one hand, and to destroy the territorial integrity of Serbia on the other.

"If anyone thinks that we will look forward to it or support it, I think they are absolutely on the wrong path," Dacic said.

He asked, on the other hand, how far Pristina has come with the formation of the Community of Serbian Municipalities in Kosovo.

"They have been lying for ten years that they will form it. Such a message raises questions about Serbia's further attitude towards the Council of Europe, the participation of President Vucic, who is at the summit in Iceland. We will certainly not allow anyone to humiliate Serbia," Dacic said.

He added that he did not know whether the admission of Kosovo would be on the agenda in Strasbourg, but that Serbia would not allow its "constructiveness to be seen as a weakness".

"We will not allow that. Should Kosovo, 10 years after signing the Brussels Agreement and rejecting the obligation to form the CSM, be rewarded by starting the procedure for their admission. That is such a foul, that it is unforgivable," said Dacic.

He said that Serbia wanted to improve cooperation with Gabon, primarily in the fields of economy and education, and that he appreciated the support that country provided to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia.

Dacic pointed out that Serbia appreciated the long-term relations with Gabon and that it would do its best to officially mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations between the two countries in October.

"In this regard, we want to transform our relations, which are friendly, into better cooperation on various other topics that are of vital importance to the citizens of Serbia and Gabon," said Dacic.

The head of Serbian diplomacy pointed out that the current cooperation between the two countries was very modest when the economy was on track, but that there was a lot of room for improvement and that it had a great perspective to be better in the future.

"We want to increase our economic cooperation. Our foreign trade exchange is extremely small. It amounts to less than ten million a year," said Dacic.

He announced that the delegation of Gabon, headed by Nyonda, will meet with the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management Jelena Tanaskovic in the coming days, but that they will also discuss the field of education.

"There is a whole series of other topics that we should prepare in order to meet the 50th anniversary of our diplomatic relations," said Dacic.

He reminded that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba met in New York in September and discussed strengthening political dialogue and economic cooperation and improving bilateral relations.