Kosovo-online.com
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia, Ivica Dacic, said today that in a conversation with his Greek colleague, Nikos Dendias, it had been confirmed that Greece remained committed to supporting the territorial integrity of Serbia, and thanked that country for supporting Serbia on the path to European integration, RTV reports.
After the meeting with Dendias, Dacic said at the press conference that he had informed the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs about the situation in Kosovo and about the fact that the Albanian side did not respect the Brussels Agreement.
"Serbia's interest is to preserve peace in the region and to prevent all possible incidents; to be a factor of peace and stability in the region," the Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs said.
Dendias said that in his conversation with Dacic, he had reiterated Greece's position on Kosovo.
"We continue to support the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina in order to reach a legally binding solution. The agreements that were signed in the past are important and we must insist that they be respected. I will repeat this in Pristina also," the Greek minister said.
He pointed out that cooperation, not only between the ministers and governments of the two countries but also between President Aleksandar Vucic and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, was crucial for the stability of the region.
"Greece is committed to further strengthening strategic ties with Serbia in all areas," the Greek minister said.
Dendias pointed out that Greece advocated for the European integration of Serbia and the Western Balkans and added that he believed that Serbia was an integral part of Europe, and the European Union was where Serbia belonged.
"We want to see that Serbia continues its reforms in fundamental areas following the European agenda, and we will help as much as we can," Dendias said.
Dacic stated that the friendship between Greece and Serbia had a long tradition and thanked his Greek colleague for the visit.
"I invited Minister Dendias to be our guest today on St. Nicholas day, to familiarize him with Serbian customs and traditions and the celebration of patron saints, which for the Serbian people means not only faith, but also survival during the Turkish occupation, and that is also the minister's name day," Dacic said.
He stated that the two ministers had spoken together with the basketball coach Zeljko Obradovic, whom he had said was another link between Serbia and Greece, as well as the island of Corfu, which had a special place in Serbian history.
Dacic pointed out that he expected to intensify cooperation after the New Year and Christmas holidays, as well as that there would be various bilateral meetings between Greece and Serbia.
The Serbian minister stated that he had given a present, an icon of St. Nicholas, to his Greek colleague as a sign of attention.
Dendias thanked his Serbian colleague for the gift and pointed out that it was a special honor for him to be a guest at the celebration of the Patron Saint of Serbian President Vucic, but that it was also an honor for the entire Greek people and Prime Minister Mitsotakis.
He reported that the two ministers had discussed the close ties between Serbia and Greece and thanked Dacic for always mentioning Corfu, which was his native island, and invited the Serbian minister to meet next time on that island.
He stated that he had also discussed with his Serbian colleague how regional cooperation could be expanded, as well as the organization of two trilateral meetings, one of which was between Greece, Serbia, and North Macedonia, and the other between Greece, Serbia, and Albania.
"Our bilateral relations deal with different issues - energy, communications, trade, tourism, and renewable energy sources. There are many areas in which we can cooperate and we have the will to improve our relations," Dendias said.
He added that this was not a peaceful time in the world, but also that Greece would continue to defend its sovereignty.
He thanked Dacic for his earlier statement in Athens and for Serbia's commitment to respecting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Greece.
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