Dacic on Kosovo's admission to the Council of Europe: Justice and law will not be taken into account, but admission will be imposed by force

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia, Ivica Dacic, will lead a team of Serbian experts fighting against Kosovo's admission to the Council of Europe. In this regard, he scheduled a government session for today at 10 o'clock. He stated that if there is justice, Kosovo cannot be admitted to the Council of Europe.

"The Council of Europe is an organization that should deal with human rights and freedoms. It cannot be said that it has not been a political organization. It has been politically colored all these years, but now we are entering a field that goes beyond the legal framework of the Council of Europe, where basic principles on which the CE functions are violated. First, it brings together states, and this would be the first time that someone is admitted to membership without being a state," Dacic said, appearing on RTS.

He added that Pristina does not invite OSCE and ODIHR for elections, but now it has a recommendation to join the Council of Europe.

"Where are those rights spoken of during elections? The president mentioned three conditions mentioned by Dora Bakoyannis. One is Decani, the second is the cessation of expropriation in Serbian municipalities, and the third is the formation of the Community of Serbian Municipalities. Of course, nothing comes out of it because CSM has been an obligation to Pristina for 11 years. Dora Bakoyannis gave up on those two conditions, but some other countries have not given up," Dacic emphasized.

He pointed out that it is shameful for Pristina to talk about the Visoki Decani Monastery, which has existed for seven centuries.

"A Frenchman who is the president of that Committee was with me. I told him: Do you know that Decani and Notre Dame are peers? Imagine having problems now and being satisfied that Notre Dame can register land around the church. That is irony. Here, it will not be about justice and law but about force. Many countries are protesting why these processes are moving so fast. They are in a hurry. Everyone talks about Kosovo being under pressure and sanctions because it does not fulfill its obligations. On the other hand, they keep rewarding them. Now you have visa liberalization, possible membership in the CE. On the other hand, I understand why because the Council of Europe is the only organization where they have a chance to enter. How can they enter the OSCE when they have no consensus, how can they enter the United Nations when they have no consensus? When is it just a pipe dream? Their star is setting, and it is in an era when it is slowly disappearing from the political sky. The number of countries recognizing Kosovo is decreasing every day," the foreign minister stressed.

Regarding the fact that out of the Council of Europe members, 12 countries do not recognize Kosovo, but the Committee of Ministers calls on them to vote in favor of Kosovo, he says that it is a violation of all principles.

"They say it has nothing to do with status issues. So how does it not? We will now tell Dora Bakoyannis, because she is from Crete, and there is a dispute between Turkey and Greece, what do we think about that. Every time we go there, they beg us to say that we firmly respect the territorial integrity of Greece on land, sea, and air. Why is that so important to them? Why doesn't that Turkish part of Crete enter the Council of Europe? Why doesn't Republic of Srpska then enter, Crimea, Donbas, and others? As they please, they interpret the principle of territorial integrity. There is nothing about international justice. We must look to preserve our interests," Dacic said.

He also revealed that he would lead the team that would work to defend Serbian interests at the meeting of the Committee of Ministers of the CE in May.

"As I am the deputy prime minister because the former prime minister was elected president of the assembly, I scheduled a government session today at 10 o'clock where we will appoint that team. I will lead it together with Petar Petkovic from the Office for Kosovo and Metohija. Most people will be from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as people from the Assembly, from the president's cabinet. Minister Tanja Miscevic will be there, Minister Tomislav Momirovic, who has contacts regarding foreign trade. We will work on the possibility of certain countries taking the whole situation seriously," he emphasized.

As for the likelihood that Kosovo will not join the international organization, Dacic points out that it will be a tough fight.

"There will be great pressure, especially from Germany and Great Britain. That is why they want Kosovo to be voted in at all costs and as soon as possible. All of this is part of the pressure, including an attempt to make a resolution on genocide in the United Nations, as well as an attempt to vote on it in the UN General Assembly, so that, in addition to Rwanda, the Serbian people would be the only ones designated as a genocidal people," Dacic concluded.