Dаčić: Expected decision of the Council of Europe, a day they will be ashamed of

Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dačić made a statement earlier today for Tanjug that 33 of the 46 members of the Council of Europe supported the decision to initiate the procedure for consideration of the so-called Kosovo's application for membership in the Council of Europe, seven were against, five abstained, while one country did not participate in the vote, and assessed that it’s an expected decision, which will harm the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina.

Dačić assessed that this is a day of which the Council of Europe will be ashamed of, and stated that the delegation of Serbia, which voted against, left the hall after the voting because they did not want to participate in "tirades" anymore, although he noted that Serbia didn’t leave the organization.

"On this day, such a decision certainly represents the twilight of the statute of the Council of Europe as well, because for the first time, an application of something that is not a state and that is not recognized by the UN and on a territory that is not a member of the UN, has been considered," Dačić said.

He thanked everyone who opposed it, thus demonstrating that they are our traditional friends, and stated that he was primarily thinking of Cyprus, Spain, Romania, Azerbaijan, and Georgia; and especially thanked Hungary, which had once recognized the independence of Kosovo, and today voted against.

"On the other hand, we are really disappointed with the attitude and approach of Greece and Slovakia, as EU members, who abstained from voting, primarily because we heard from them that they do not recognize Kosovo's independence. I would also like to remind you that Bosnia and Herzegovina abstained. Imagine that irony. Imagine if the Republika Srpska were to apply for membership now, what irony and insolence would that be, and we are being lectured that we are influencing the destruction of the territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. They are directly participating in the destruction of the territorial integrity of Serbia," Dačić said.

He particularly emphasized the attitude of Ukraine, which abstained.

"Look at the troubles we have in defending the territorial integrity of Ukraine, how much we tense up and vote everywhere and justify ourselves because someone accuses us of not supporting the territorial integrity of Ukraine enough, and Ukraine abstained from voting when it comes to our territorial integrity. Absolutely unacceptable. Armenia, also, was not in the hall when the voting took place. We did not expect such moves from these countries," Dačić said.

When it comes to Montenegro, Dačić says that he does not know whether he is surprised or not because they once again supported the destruction of Serbia's territorial integrity.

"I really thank them for that; I don't know how Serbia deserved it. And I have to say that it will certainly have certain consequences for our relations. Serbia cannot just serve as a punching bag, you cannot say -- “we will shoot you in the head, but it is nothing personal," Dačić said.

On the decision of the CoE Committee, he assessed that it has been made clear to Serbia that it has no right to protect its territorial integrity and sovereignty, but that it has to defend the territorial integrity of every other country.

He also said that this is a lesson for Serbia that it must never lose its majority in the UN.

Source: Tanjug