Djuric: Kosovo will not join the Council of Europe, Serbia has gained support from key EU actors

Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric reminded that in less than ten days, a vote on Kosovo’s admission to the Council of Europe will take place, and pointed out that Kosovo will not gain membership because, as he stated, Serbia has succeeded in securing the support of some key EU actors. Speaking about the Victory Parade in Moscow, which President Aleksandar Vucic will attend, Djuric said he is proud that Serbs are a people who celebrate Victory Day over fascism.

“Kosovo will not succeed because Serbia has managed to win over some of the key actors in the EU. Pristina has not met any of the conditions, it has not returned the land taken from Serbs and has not formed the Community of Serb Municipalities. Not only has it not been formed, but they openly boast that they don’t intend to form it. We have to fight and make our case, and in that, President Vucic is unmatched. His relationships with Macron, with the incoming German leadership… these are ties Vucic built long ago and which have led to, for example, around 100,000 people working in numerous German companies established here. Serbia conducts 64% of its trade with EU countries, our roads, schools, hospitals depend on that, and we are indeed a country on the path to EU membership. Serbia makes its own decisions, but the decisions from Brussels affect us too, and it is important to win allies,”  Djuric emphasized.

The minister also addressed the speculations and media reports suggesting that President Vucic’s meeting with Trump was canceled during his visit to the United States.

“When you spread fake news that someone wasn’t received by Trump, you are hurting everyone, Serbia as a whole, regardless of which side you are on. I’m very pleased, now that we were in America, by how strong Serbia’s influence there is, our position is much stronger,”  Djuric concluded.

Speaking on Happy TV, he said he is proud that Serbia is a nation that celebrates Victory Day over fascism. Djuric highlighted that his most inspiring meeting was with Milorad Rakic, a 102-year-old veteran who participated in the liberation of Belgrade.

“That energy of his, that enthusiasm, selflessness, and dedication… We should learn from him if we want to have a community, let alone a country, because in today’s generation we have far too little of that,” Djuric said.

Speaking about the flight route for President Vucic’s trip to Moscow, which became more complicated after Lithuania and Latvia refused to grant overflight permission to the Serbian presidential plane citing “diplomatic sensitivity,” Djuric emphasized that, regardless of opinions on Serbia’s participation in the parade, overflight rights should not be questioned as they are a technical matter.

“I won’t speak on this now, the President will later today, and he will present all the details about how various countries acted in this situation. This is something that should not be happening. Some would like Serbia to refrain from defending its own interests and to accept acting in the interests of other geopolitical power centers. I often say things that are not popular, we defend the territorial integrity of all countries, but our duty is to shape our policy in line with our national interests. Our assessment is that we should be there, that we should talk, that we should be present at that celebration and many other venues, and affirm the values of the fight against fascism, because we believe those values must still be upheld today. It is important that we continue dialogue with key partners in the international community too, such as the Russian Federation,” Djuric stated.