Dacic on the voting in the Council of Europe: We did not expect such moves from Greece, Slovakia, Bosna and Herzegovina, Ukraine, and Armenia...

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia, Ivica Dacic, assessed today that the decision to start the procedure for considering Kosovo's request for membership in the Council of Europe had been expected, that it was a shame for that organization and that it would harm the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina.

According to RTV, he pointed out for Tanjug that 33 of the 46 members of the Council of Europe had supported the decision to initiate the procedure for consideration of Kosovo's request for membership in the Council of Europe, seven had been against, five had abstained, and one country had not participated in the vote.

Dacic assessed that this was a day that the Council of Europe would be ashamed of and stated that the delegation of Serbia, which had voted against had left the hall after the voting because they had not wanted to participate in "tirades" any further, but he noted that Serbia had not left the organization. 

"This day on the occasion of that decision certainly represents the twilight of the statute of the Council of Europe, because for the first time, the request of something that is not a state and that is not recognized by the UN and a territory that is not a member of the UN is being considered," Dacic said.

He thanked all those who were against it, showed that they were our traditional friends, and stated that he was primarily thinking of Cyprus, Spain, Romania, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, and he especially thanked Hungary, which had recognized the independence of Kosovo, and today had voted against.

"On the other hand, we are really disappointed with the attitude and approach of Greece and Slovakia, as EU members, who were restrained, primarily because we heard from them that they do not recognize Kosovo's independence. I would also like to remind you that Bosnia and Herzegovina was restrained. Imagine that irony. Imagine if the Republika Srpska were to apply for membership now, what irony and insolence would that be, and we are being lectured that we are influencing the destruction of the territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. They are directly participating in the destruction of the territorial integrity of Serbia," Dacic said.

He particularly emphasized the attitude of Ukraine, which had been restrained.

"Look at how much trouble we have defending the territorial integrity of Ukraine, how much we tense up and vote everywhere and justify ourselves because someone accuses us of not supporting the territorial integrity of Ukraine enough, and Ukraine votes with restraint when it comes to our territorial integrity. Absolutely unacceptable. Armenia, also, was not in the hall when the voting took place. We did not expect such moves from those countries," Dacic said.

When it comes to Montenegro, Dacic says that he does not know whether he is surprised or not because they once again supported the destruction of Serbia's territorial integrity.

"I really thank them for that; I don't know how Serbia deserved it. And I have to say that it will certainly have certain consequences for our relations. Serbia cannot just serve as a punching bag, you cannot say, “We will shoot you in the head, but it is nothing personal”," Dacic said.

On the occasion of the decision of the CoE Committee, he assessed that Serbia had been made aware that it had no right to protect its territorial integrity and sovereignty, and that it had to defend the territorial integrity of every other country.

He also says that this is a lesson for Serbia that it must never lose its majority in the UN.