Dacic: Serbia is grateful to Iran for its position on Kosovo

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and First Vice-President of the Government of Serbia, Ivica Dacic, said today that the bilateral relations between Serbia and Iran were at a high level. He stressed that Serbia was grateful to Iran for not recognizing the self-proclaimed independence of Kosovo, as well as for its principled stance in defending the territorial integrity of Serbia, RTV reports.

Dacic, after the meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran Hossein Amir Abdollahian at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, emphasized that Iran behaved on principle when it came to international organizations and that it did not vote for the admission of Kosovo, regardless, as he said, of all the pressures that Iran had.

Dacic added that Serbia was firmly committed to cooperation with Iran and that the two countries would see in what form they could develop cooperation in the coming period.

He pointed out that foreign trade exchange reached 55 million dollars in the last few months and added that work would be done on the development of that and all other types of cooperation, such as cooperation in the fields of energy, education, science and culture.

Dacic stated that 18 scholarships were awarded for those interested from Iran to study in Serbia.

As he emphasized, Serbia and Iran were marking 85 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, which indicated a long-standing tradition in cooperation between the two countries.

"Bilateral relations between Serbia and Iran are at a very high level," the Serbian head of diplomacy said.

Dacic pointed out that Serbia was concerned about the events in Iran, but that it did not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.

"We want the problems to be solved in the interest of the Iranian people and the state," Dacic said.

He added that Iran was a friend of Serbia and that, accordingly, Serbia would be on their side in principle.

Abdollahian: We hope that President Vucic will visit Tehran

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran stated that he conveyed the greetings of the Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic, as well as that he sent an official invitation for the Serbian President to visit Iran.

"I hope that we will witness the official visit of President Vucic to Tehran," said Abdollahian.

He added that the two countries had good bilateral, political, but also cooperation in the field of parliamentary relations and conveyed that he had discussed with Dacic a wide range of cooperation between the two countries, stressing that Iran sees Serbia as an eastern country in the west, but also a western country in the east.

The Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs expressed his satisfaction that, as he said, the trade exchange increased by 50 percent in the last year.

Abdollahian said that they were ready to hold the 16th session of the economic committee on cooperation between the two countries and emphasized that Iran wished peace and prosperity to all the countries of the Western Balkans.

"Keeping in mind the long cooperation, we extend the hand of friendship to Serbia and all other countries of the Western Balkans," the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs said.

He emphasized that the Islamic Republic of Iran supported respect for the territorial integrity of all countries and Serbia, which was why it insisted on preserving that integrity and the national interests of Serbia.

"We support all the measures that Serbia takes in that direction," Abdollahian said.

Speaking about the situation in Iran, he said that the country was faced with the interference of a foreign factor in internal affairs and that the Iranian people came out of the hybrid and multi-layered war with their heads held high.

"It was clear to us that the US and some Western countries are looking to cause unrest in Iran," Abdollahian said.

He added that Iran would not allow any party to cause terror in that country, saying that he had spoken with the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, about the lifting of sanctions against Iran and that he had told him that Iran had accepted a deal that was in the interest of the Iranian people.

Abdollahian also said that he also spoke with several foreign affairs ministers of some European countries, without specifying which countries they were talking about, and that he told them that all parties should return to respecting their obligations.

The Iranian minister pointed out that Iran had no restrictions on expanding its relations with Serbia and that it was ready to cooperate in the field of energy through a series of documents if it received a request from Serbia.