Minister Dačić for RTS: Procedure in the Council of Europe breached

In an appearance in the RTS news, Minister Dačić said that the sequence of events did not show a normal procedure, rather it showed an intent to reward Pristina for something; the question remains - what for.  “Could it be a reward for not having established the Association of Serb Majority Municipalities in 10 years. How come the Council of Europe has not determined yet that the Association of Serb Majority Municipalities must be established, since Katherine Ashton has signed to that effect on behalf of the EU”, asked Minister Dačić.

Minister Dačić declares that, in this particular case, not only has the Council of Europe Statute been breached, since an entity that is not a state cannot become a member of the Council of Europe, but we also have a situation where the legal interpretation of the same person is different than it was 10 years ago.

He also says that it is obvious that Germany promised Albin Kurti that he would be rewarded for being useful. “This just goes to show who is a favourite of some western countries, in this case of the Quint. They have breached a series of rules, Iceland has been opposed to this for a long time. They wanted to leave this for Latvia's upcoming chairmanship, only to request a session to be convened urgently with a sole item on the agenda. The Committee of Ministers met with only one item on the agenda and it has never been convened in same the week as the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe”, underlines Minister Dačić.

He said that Albin Kurti had made this a condition to continue to be useful in the future and talk about the Association of Serb Majority Municipalities, which was “ridiculous, hypocritical and contemptuous”.

“In the discussion no one took floor, only Albania, which was the one who proposed it in the first place.” They are ashamed for having put this in motion, they are embarrassed and they are distancing themselves from it, because tomorrow another part of some other country might apply to join European Council.

President called me last night and we deliberated on our next steps.

“There are 46 member states, but Russia left on its own accord, and Belarus is not a member. We must thank Hungary and consider them true friends.  Out of 46 countries, 34 recognize Kosovo, and in this case 13 countries voted against and 33 voted for. I wish to express special thanks to Hungary. It is a big deal for someone to vote against, having earlier recognized Kosovo”, says Dačić.

I would also like to thank Azerbaijan and Georgia.

Praise to them and we are deeply grateful. It is also important that Spain, Cyprus and Romania remain true to their earlier stance. On the other hand, I must say that we were unpleasantly surprised with Ukraine.  When it comes to Ukraine, this whole story stands on territorial integrity.  You all know with how much effort we vote on all resolutions, how we condemn breach of the territorial integrity of Ukraine, and now when it is a question of our territorial integrity, they abstain. Foreign policy is based on reciprocity. This will certainly affect our stance in the future regarding the territorial integrity of those countries, says Minister Dačić.

Armenia has not participated in voting, he says. “We have friendly relations with them, but this has been a surprise for us, because they know how many problems there are when it comes to territorial integrity and how important it is”, underlines Minister Dačić.

“Montenegro could have at least abstained to show modicum of respect for our needs.  This is another instance where we have to apply reciprocity.  Montenegro voted for admission of Kosovo. They will need our vote someday; they surely will not be able to count on it. “When it comes to Bosnia and Herzegovina - has there ever been an appearance where I have not supported territorial integrity of BiH. From now on, when asked, we will abstain. Why should we support territorial integrity of BiH, if they abstain from voting”, said Dačić.

Minister Dačić asked why some countries chose to abstain.

“Do these countries recognize Kosovo or not. This is the question for Greece and Slovakia. Greek Minister attended a celebration of family saint patron’s day at President Vućić’s.  Greek President talks about how they do not recognize Kosovo. This is about territorial integrity and sovereignty. Now we are supposed to make more effort to protect territorial integrity of Ukraine and BiH, to undermine our interests by destroying our relations with Russia, while they abstain in votes important to us. I simply do not understand this”, emphasised Minister Dačić.

He says that Greece and Slovakia have surprised him.

“But this is not the first time we face something like this. This is a question of principle.  If you are against, then you are against. There is a false information that all of it was somehow foreseen, some are even mentioning the Brussels Agreement, and these things are not related. Now they are mentioning this Ohrid Agreement, and they are insolently saying that it is based on that.  And should we now applaud and say that it is all OK.  Well, no, we have to defend our national interests. The first thing in the Ohrid Agreement is the Association of Serb Majority Municipalities. If that is not put in place, no other agreement is valid”, says Minister Dačić.

In his words, this is a classic case of a manipulation, a lie.

“The international community has decided that Albin Kurti needs a positive reinforcement.” It is the height of hypocrisy.  And what did Serbia get. That is why, when we are talking about foreign policy relations, I think that those are gangster methods - I will shoot you in the head, but it is nothing personal and carries no consequence. There is only reciprocity in international relations.  The way someone behaves towards us, that is how we will behave towards them and that is final”, underlined Minister Dačić.

Minister Dačić says that the Summit of the Council of Europe is in preparation, they wanted unity over Ukraine, instead they brought about divisions over Kosovo”.

“For the first time there are divisions about admission of a country.  It has never been the case before.  There is a declaration that says that territorial integrity of Ukraine and Moldova must be respected. We will propose an amendment to this - what about the territorial integrity of Serbia.  Why should we do it, and they raise a hue and cry against Russia in that document.  Why should we do it, and then Ukraine and Moldova abstain when it comes to our territorial integrity. If this amendment is not accepted, there will be no vote for the declaration on the Council of Europe, and then it will not be approved without consensus”, says Minister Dačić.

The conclusion will surely be along the lines of what President Vučić said yesterday.

“We should continue further dialogue in order to find our common interests, and not simply obey the directives that take into consideration only Pristina’s interests, because that is not a dialogue.  The session of the UN Security Council on Kosovo is scheduled for Thursday.  I will set off today, but there is a possibility that the President decides to participate himself on behalf of Serbia, but that is something that will be decided during the day”, concluded Minister Dačić.

Source: RTS