Dacic: CoE procedure violated, why should we protect integrity of Ukraine and BiH while they abstain on Kosovo

Photo: Milena Djordjevic

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia Ivica Dacic says that the procedure in the Council of Europe (CoE) has been violated and that those who proposed this are ashamed because of it. He stressed that Ukraine surprised us unpleasantly and that while Serbia condemns violations of Ukraine's territorial integrity in all resolutions around the world, when it comes to Serbia's territorial integrity - they abstain from voting, which will affect our future stance.

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"As far as Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is concerned, was there ever a speech of mine where did not mention, territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Now when someone asks, we will abstain. So why would we be in favor of the territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and their vote is abstention," said Dacic.

Ivica Dacic, who appeared on RTS, also said that the sequence of events indicates that this was not a normal procedure, but exclusively about Pristina being rewarded for something, the only question is, for what.

"Is this a reward for not forming the ZSO (Community of Serb Municipalities) for 10 years? How come the Council of Europe has not stated that the ZSO must be formed, because Catherine Ashton (former EU foreign policy chief) signed that on behalf of the EU," Dacic asked.

Dacic noted that not only was the statute of the Council of Europe violated here, because something that is not a state cannot be a member of the Council of Europe.

"On the other hand, the legal interpretation by the same man is different today compared to 10 years ago," pointed out Dacic.

He said that it is obvious that Germany promised Kurti that they would reward him for some kind of constructive approach.

"Here it is clear who is the favorite of some Western countries, in this case of the Quint (Germany, France, Italy, UK, US). They broke a number of rules, Iceland was against it for a long time. They wanted to leave it to Latvia for the next presidency. Then they asked for an urgent meeting with only one item on the agenda. That Committee of Ministers met with only one item on the agenda, and it never happened before that it was convened in a week when the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe was held," said Dacic.

He noted that (Albin) Kurti conditioned them with alleged constructiveness and with wanting to discuss the ZSO, which is "ridiculous, hypocritical, rude."

"In the discussion itself, no one asked to speak, only Albania, which proposed it. They are ashamed of what they proposed, they are ashamed and are distancing themselves, because maybe tomorrow a part of some other country will be proposed for membership in the Council of Europe," says Dacic.

The president called me last night and we discussed what to do, he continued.

"There are 46 (CoE) members in total, but Russia has left, and Belarus is not a member. We have to thank Hungary and consider them our steadfast friends. Of those countries, 34 recognize Kosovo, and here 13 (of them) did not vote for this, 33 voted for in favor. I wish to especially thank Hungary. It's a great thing that someone did, for someone who recognized Kosovo, to vote against this," said Dacic.

He thanked Azerbaijan and Georgia.

"Well done and we are deeply grateful. It is very important that Spain, Cyprus and Romania remained consistent. On the other hand, I must say that Ukraine has surprised us unpleasantly. This whole story is based on territorial integrity when it comes to Ukraine. You know what effort it takes for us to vote for all the resolutions, to condemn the violation of the territorial integrity of Ukraine in all the resolutions around the world, but when it comes to our territorial integrity, they abstained. Foreign policy is based on reciprocity. This will certainly affect our views in the future on territorial integrity of those countries. This will affect our stance going forward," Dacic stressed.

Armenia, he said, did not participate in the vote.

"We have friendly relations with them, but we are very surprised by this, because they know how many problems there are and what territorial integrity means," Dacic said.

"Montenegro could at least have abstained, show at least a little respect for our problems. We have to act reciprocally here as well. Montenegro voted in favor of admission of Kosovo. They will need our vote sometime, they certainly won't be able to count on it. Regarding BiH, was there ever a time I gave a speech that we did not say, 'territorial integrity of BiH'. Now when someone asks, we will abstain. Well, why would we be in favor of the territorial integrity of BiH, and they vote by abstaining," Dacic pointed out.

Dacic wondered why some countries did that.

"Do those countries recognize Kosovo, or don't they. This is a question for both Greece and Slovakia. The minister from Greece was a guest at President Vucic's slava (Serbian family patron saint day celebration). The President of Greece spoke about the fact that they do not recognize Kosovo. This is about territorial integrity and sovereignty. Now we're supposed to be protecting the territorial integrity of Ukraine or BiH more (than our own), to destroy our own interests by destroying our relations with Russia, only for them to vote by abstaining. I don't understand that," said Dacic.

He says that both Greece and Slovakia surprised him.

"But I can't say that this is the first time we've encountered it. This is a question of principle. If you are against it, then you are against it. There are manipulations that this is somehow envisaged, someone even says in the Brussels agreement, but that's nonsense. Now they are also mentioning this Ohrid agreement, where the brazen people are saying it is based on that. What, we're supposed to applaud and say okay? Well, no, we have to defend our national interests. This is about the fact that the first thing in the Ohrid agreement is the ZSO. If there is no such thing, there are no other agreements either," noted Dacic.

According to him, this is classic manipulation, a lie.

"The international community assessed that they should give a positive impulse to Kurti. This is peak hypocrisy. And what did Serbia get? That's why I think that when it comes to those foreign political relations, these gangster principles - I'm going to shoot you in the head, but it's nothing personal, that doesn't apply. In international relations, there is only reciprocity. As someone treats us, so we will treat them, period," stressed Dacic.

Dacic added that the CoE summit is being prepared in Reykjavik and that "they invested so much in it, they wanted a show of unity around Ukraine, but they brought in divisions because of Kosovo."

"For the first time, there is a lack of unity regarding the admission of someone. That has never happened before. There is a declaration in which it is said that the territorial integrity of Ukraine and Moldova should be respected. We will put in an amendment regarding the territorial integrity of Serbia.

Why would we do that (accept the document), when it throws sticks and stones at Russia. Why should we do that, while Ukraine and Moldova are abstained when it comes to our territorial integrity. If that amendment is not accepted, there will be no vote on the declaration of the Council of Europe, and it cannot be adopted without consensus," the Minister of Foreign Affairs noted.

The conclusion, he said, will certainly be in th samee vein as what President Vucic talked about yesterday.

"We should continue dialogue in search of our common interests, not the diktat of what is in the interest of Pristina alone, because then that's no dialogue. Thursday is the session of the UN Security Council on Kosovo. I will travel today, and there is a possibility that the president will make a decision to participate on behalf of Serbia, but he will make a decision on that during the day," concluded Dacic.

(Telegraf.rs)