Milivojevic: Vucic should not participate in the Summit if the Council of Europe does not adopt Serbia's amendment

Former diplomat Zoran Milivojevic believes that if the Council of Europe adopts a resolution on Ukraine without including Belgrade's amendment that protects Serbia's territorial integrity, it makes no sense for Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic to participate in the Council of Europe Summit in Reykjavik, Sputnik writes.

Milivojevic stated that this position of Serbia was also a clear political message.

"It is the implementation of our country's foreign policy principles, which were announced when the Council of Europe decided to submit Kosovo's membership application to the Parliamentary Assembly," Milivojevic emphasized.

He explained that Serbia's amendment is of a principled nature because the draft resolution mentions support for Ukraine, territorial integrity, and the sovereignty of member states, including Moldova and Georgia.

He points out that Serbia's amendment signals that all other states should also be added, acknowledging Serbian sovereignty and territorial integrity.

"We have principledly stated that the resolution should respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all sovereign member states, as we are a member of the Council of Europe within the boundaries of the United Nations, which include Kosovo and Metohija as part of the state of Serbia. Therefore, if you state in that resolution the sovereignty of all states and the territorial integrity of all member states, it must include the territorial integrity of Serbia with Kosovo and Metohija," Milivojevic explained.

According to him, if the text is not changed, Vucic's non-attendance in Reykjavik would be in line with Serbia's stance after the Council of Europe decided to submit Kosovo's membership application to the Parliamentary Assembly.

"If they reject the amendment and make it clear that they do not respect the territorial integrity, then due to our state and national interests, our Constitution, considering that we are a full member, in full capacity, with full territorial integrity including Kosovo and Metohija, we cannot attend there. We just cannot accept that," Milivojevic said.

When asked about the potential reactions if the Serbian president does not attend the summit and whether Serbia can expect additional pressure due to its neutral stance on the crisis in Ukraine, Milivojevic stated that nothing new would happen because the country has been under pressure since the fall of the Berlin Wall, the NATO aggression, since 2008, and has been constantly under pressure since then.

"Pressure does not mean anything new to us; it can only be an explanation with the Council of Europe, not pressure. Our position is completely clear, they need to explain to us why it is unacceptable to them, whether they are questioning the state of Serbia as a member in its territorial integrity," Milivojevic said.

As he pointed out, the Council of Europe has already been divided over the case of Kosovo, which has never happened in its history regarding the procedure for admitting new members.

"The Council of Europe has already been divided, and if this division comes into play here as well, then the organization is in serious trouble," Milivojevic concluded.