Vucic after meeting with German diplomat: Kosovo and Metohija also a topic, we're ready for dialogue

The meeting in the Presidency of Serbia started at 9 am, with Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikola Selakovic and the Minister for European Integration Jadranka Joksimovic also taking part

President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic received Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany Heiko Maas today in Belgrade. Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikola Selakovic and Minister of European Integration Jadranka Joksimovic also participated in the meeting held at the Presidency.

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After the talks with the head of German diplomacy, the president said that important topics were on the table.

He said that it was very important for Serbia to stress the fact that it has closest economic relations with Germany.

"I would like to point out the importance of our relations with Berlin, there is no economic partner like Germany. Even during the time of coronavirus, we had an increase in trade. A few years ago, 17,000 people worked in German companies in Serbia, and today as many as 70,000," Vucic stressed and added that these are serious companies, who are changing the awareness of our people.

He stressed that he was also grateful to Chancellor Angela Merkel for Serbia's help in all areas.

He said that Kosovo and Metohija were also discussed during today's meeting.

"As you know, Germany has recognized independence," he said and added that Germany supports the continuation of the dialogue, for which Serbia is ready.

"Serbia wants to reach a compromise solution and believes that a frozen conflict is not the best solution because someone can always unfreeze it. We need peace with the Albanians."

On Vjosa Osmani's statement and the Brussels Agreement

Asked about Vjosa Osman saying that the Brussels Agreement should be reconsidered, Maas said that it was important to achieve results in the dialogue now and that the agreement does not have to be reset, but to achieve what had been agreed so far.

The president of Serbia said that as far as Belgrade is concerned, the Brussels agreement is something that must be fulfilled and that Pristina is expected to do the same - to form the Community of Serb Municipalities (ZSO).

"We do not recognize an independent Kosovo, but we are ready to, while protecting our national interests and peace, talk and strive for a compromise solution," said Vucic.

The German diplomat was in Pristina yesterday

Maas was in Pristina yesterday, and ahead of his arrival in Belgrade, he said that he wanted to find out how Germany can support the dialogue on normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina.

"The still unresolved relations between Serbia and Kosovo hinder the development of the two countries and the entire region, and thus moving closer to the EU. For that reason I want to see on the ground how we can support the two countries in the dialogue of normalization under the mediation of the EU," Maas said in a statement.

According to him, the new government in Pristina taking office is the right moment for that.

"At the same time, we are visibly investing, by opening our new embassy in Belgrade, in our relations with Serbia. With that we are also underlining our determination that the future of the Western Balkan countries is in the EU," Maas stressed.

(Telegraf.rs/Tanjug)