Rastovac Siamashvili: Kosovo does not have the support of UNESCO membership for accession to this organization

Ambassador of Serbia to UNESCO, Tamara Rastovac Siamashvili, stated for Kosovo Online that Serbia's third election as a member of the Executive Board of this organization was a clear signal of the reputation, weight, and influence that Serbia possessed, and which it would use in the engagement to protect its cultural and historical heritage in Kosovo. She also emphasized that at this moment Kosovo did not have the support for UNESCO membership. 

The Ambassador also says that Serbia was confident and expected re-election.

"That's something Minister Dacic emphasized, and we also did so on several occasions. We were reasonably optimistic, but you never know because it's a secret ballot, and you don't have the complete outcome, but we can say we're not surprised by the success and thrilled with the number of votes. I don't think there was any doubt. I just finished a meeting of the Bureau of the General Conference where our colleagues from the Bureau congratulated us, and in a series of messages we received immediately after the election, everyone emphasized that Serbia was an absolute winner, especially in our electoral group. In our electoral group, as well as in the Arab and Asia-Pacific groups, there was competition, meaning there were more candidates than available seats. Therefore, our success is even greater", Rastovac Siamashvili said.

She emphasizes that this victory opens up a broader maneuvering space in the coming period in terms of Serbian engagement in the organization.

"Our cultural and religious heritage in Kosovo and Metohija is an absolute priority in Serbia's actions and the work of this permanent delegation. Therefore, our membership in the Executive Board, which we will use to further promote Serbia's visibility, will inevitably help in further activities to protect our cultural and religious heritage. I would like to remind that the last World Heritage Committee made a decision without discussion to keep our cultural and religious heritage in Kosovo and Metohija on the danger list, we received tremendous support from the Committee members, and this is another confirmation of the reputation that the Republic of Serbia enjoys in UNESCO", the Ambassador said.

She added that one of the reasons Serbia had received a large number of votes was its balanced role.

"That is something everyone expects from us, and I would add, in conversations with colleagues and UNESCO officials after the reelection, the importance of the balanced role that Serbia has was emphasized, and I think that is one of the reasons we received so many votes", she emphasized.
Regarding the statement of the Albanian Ambassador to UNESCO, Besiana Kadare, who said that Kosovo was a "project that will be worked on" and that its membership in UNESCO would happen, Rastovac Siamashvili says that Kosovo absolutely lacks support.

"UNESCO does not deal with the status of territories and strongly insists on depoliticization. Without the desire to comment on the statement of the Albanian Ambassador, if the territorial integrity and sovereignty of some states are emphasized and stressed, it is impossible to overlook and not emphasize the need to protect the integrity and sovereignty of the Republic of Serbia. In terms of any future request from Pristina, I can say with absolute certainty that they do not have the support of UNESCO membership at the moment, and they are aware of that", Rastovac stated.