FM: Serbia cannot find solution to cold war

Source: Tanjug

BELGRADE -- Serbia is making resolute strides towards EU membership despite its refusal to impose sanctions on Russia, Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić has said.

(Tanjug)

EU membership is the first priority of this government and there is no doubt about that, Dačić said in his speech at the European Policy Center in Brussels, before an audience that included many diplomats and reporters.
Earlier on Friday, he participated in the screening on negotiation chapter 31, related to the alignment of Serbia's foreign policy to that of the EU's.

"I came to the screening in person because, due to the fact that we have not joined the anti-Russian embargo, some have been asking whether we really want to join the EU," Dačić said, adding that Serbia will gradually align its diplomacy to the EU's common diplomacy.

"We are aware of our obligations and there are no disputes about them - the only thing that we do not agree on with the EU is the anti-Russian embargo, which we cannot support, just like we do not support Russia's embargo on EU food imports," Dačić said.

He said that both Russia and Ukraine are countries that are friends to Serbia and that Serbia "cannot solve a cold war."

Until the outbreak of the Ukrainian crisis, the degree of the alignment of Serbia's foreign policy to that of the EU was over 90 percent, which has dropped to under 70 percent since the introduction of the European anti-Russian embargo, but the process of alignment will be complete by the time of Serbia's accession to the EU, Dačić said.

According to him, "Serbia will not build the South Stream gas pipeline if Moscow and Brussels reach no agreement because Serbia can only obtain gas via Bulgaria - an EU member - in any case."

The South Stream will not be built for the sake of Serbia, but for the sake of the EU, and we cannot afford to freeze just to come across as principled, he said.

Serbia is not only aligning its foreign policy to that of the EU, but also its security policy, which is reflected by its participation in peacekeeping operations and the joint fight against terrorism, Dačić noted.

Asked by a member of the audience about Russian President Putin's upcoming visit to Belgrade, Dačić responded that he "does not see what the problem is," and added:

"If Angela Merkel can talk to Putin on the phone every now and then, and if the U.S. and Russian chief diplomats maintain constant contact, I do not see why we could not invite him."

Next year will mark the 70th anniversary of the victory over fascism and there will be many parades across Europe that Russia, as an Allied nation, is bound to participate in, Dačić said.

Responding to a question by Mimoza Ahmetaj, Kosovo's ambassador to Belgium, about the development of the Belgrade-Priština ties, Dačić said that Serbia is firmly committed to a continuation of the dialogue.

"We will work on the normalization of relations, but we will not be helping you to be independent," Dačić said, adding that anything that does not interfere with the matter of Kosovo's status is acceptable to Belgrade.

Dačić expressed hope that Serbia will open the first chapters in the EU accession talks as early as this year.

"I know that some EU member states do not share the view that the chapters be opened during the Italian presidency, but we will continue to move towards Europe anyway, at an unrelenting pace," he said.