Dacic speaks sharply about “Kosovo”

01. Dec 2023.
First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dacic visited Skopje yesterday, where he participated in the 30th OSCE Ministerial Council.

In his address, the head of Serbian diplomacy, commenting that in the discussion there were also some calls for the admission of "Kosovo" to full membership of the OSCE, pointed out that territorial integrity was a universal principle that applied to all.

“You cannot use the example of one country to talk about the threat to territorial integrity, and in the case of another country, which is internationally recognized and which existed, and here, in Skopje, you know that there were six federal units in Yugoslavia, not seven, and that "Kosovo" was never a federal unit, you cannot interpret the issue of territorial integrity as you see fit”, Dacic said.

He underlined that the territorial integrity of Serbia had its importance, and that for Serbs that importance was the greatest in the world.

“If you are already condemning the violation of the territorial integrity of some other countries, at least try not to be hypocritical, and do not speak so openly about legalizing the violation of the territorial integrity of Serbia, at a meeting like this”, Dacic stressed.  

Minister Dacic also noted that "Kosovo" is an integral part of Serbia, and that the dialogue being carried out was about the normalization of relations, not about recognition.

“We are ready to discuss political relations, status, but that requires an agreement with Serbia. One may not violate international law, as is the case with "Kosovo". If I highly value the territorial integrity of Ukraine and do everything to preserve it, then do not lead us to the conclusion that the territorial integrity of Serbia is less important for Europe and for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe”, Minister Dacic said.

In conclusion, Minister Dacic emphasized that the territorial integrity of every country was equally important and called for adherence to principles.