Dacic: Serbia cannot be guinea pig for constant violations of territorial integrity

Dacic also said that the rapporteur of the Council of Europe (CoE) parliamentary assembly for so-called Kosovo Dora Bakoyannis "lied about everything" - recalling her words that three conditions must be met for admission to the Council of Europe

Minister of Foreign Affairs and leader of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) Ivica Dacic said today that it is disgraceful that the Committee for Political Affairs of the Council of Europe (CoE) accepted the recommendation that so-called Kosovo should be admitted to the Council of Europe.

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He added that this is contrary to all the principles on which that organization is based, and pointed out that Serbia is not a guinea pig for constantly violating international law.

"It is the first time that the membership of a territory that is not internationally recognized, that is not a member of the UN is recommended. In order to achieve this, they try to find justification and say that this does not prejudge the status (of Kosovo) - and then in the next sentence, they say that the position of the CoE is to cease to be be status-neutral. So who are you kidding here?," asked Dacic.

Dacic also said that the CoE rapporteur for so-called Kosovo Dora Bakoyannis "lied about everything" - recalling her words that three conditions must be met for admission to the Council of Europe.

"Serbia does not deserve this. This is a violation of our state interests and a decision to the detriment of our territorial integrity and sovereignty. It is especially offensive when someone says that human rights and freedoms will now be better protected in so-called Kosovo," Dacic told reporters in the Serbian National Assembly.

He then asked why, if things stand that way - some other regions are not able to join the Council of Europe.

"So why doesn't Dora Bakoyannis propose that the part of Cyprus under Turkish occupation join the Council of Europe? So why doesn't she propose that Catalonia join the Council of Europe? So why don't they propose that Crimea, and Donbass, and the Serb Republic (RS) eventually join the Council of Europe," wondered Dacic.

He added that Serbia cannot be a permanent guinea pig for violations of international law.

Dacic explained that the final decision regarding so-called Kosovo's membership is supposed to be made by the body's Committee of Ministers, and that session should be held in May.

"They have a two-thirds majority, because the situation in Europe is the worst for us as far as Kosovo is concerned. Most (of those) countries have recognized so-called Kosovo as independent," Dacic said.

When asked if he thinks that Serbia should leave the Council of Europe, Dacic said that the question of whether we should participate in such organizations does arise, but that the decision will be made by the state leadership.

"My personal position is not important at all. This is not my private Ministry of Foreign Affairs, nor am I acting as an individual. What matters here is the state interest," Dacic said.

(Telegraf.rs/Tanjug)