President Nikolić confers with German chancellor

Source: Tanjug

SANTIAGO DE CHILE -- Serbia's President Tomislav Nikolić has conferred with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the sidelines of the CELAC-EU summit in Chile.

Angela Merkel and Tomislav Nikolić (Tanjug)

Nikolić and Merkel are taking part in the summit of heads of state and government of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the EU.
The two officials met at a dinner organized by Chilean President Sebastian Pinera with whom the Serbian president met on Friday.

He pointed out that the EU now considered Serbia’s stances with much more respect.

Nikolić did not comment on the details of his talks with Merkel, but noted that the meeting was very constructive and that the German chancellor has said that she considered him a credible partner.

“It was especially important to meet with the German chancellor and I think that the talks were very constructive. She said for the first time that she was talking to a man she knew would not promise anything he could not keep and that he would say upfront what he could not fulfill,” the president said.

“I was very proud of being able to represent Serbia here. In talks with many representatives of states I realized that Serbia is reclaiming the place it used to have in the third world and that European countries think about positions that Serbia presents with much more respect,” he added.

Nikolić had a series of bilateral meetings on Saturday. He met with Uruguayan and Cuban Presidents Jose Mujica and Raul Castro and with Portugal’s Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho.

The Serbian president is also scheduled to meet with Slovenian and Spanish Prime Ministers Janez Janša and Mariano Rajoy.