Serbia Plans Fundamental Changes in Foreign Policy After Kosovo's Membership Approval

2023-04-26 04:29:31

(MENAFN) Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has announced that his country will undergo profound and fundamental changes in foreign policy after the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe approved Kosovo's request for membership in the Council. Vucic stated that Serbia will now work with the elements of taking care of bilateral relations in foreign policy, without going beyond the limits of reciprocity. The president further questioned why Serbia should respect the territorial integrity of others if they do not respect Serbia's, calling for deep and essential changes in politics and a responsible attitude towards the country.

Vucic expressed gratitude to Hungary, Spain, Cyprus, Romania, Azerbaijan, and Georgia for not voting for Kosovo's membership. According to him, these countries supported public international law and the UN Charter, both of which come before all others. However, Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said that Serbia will change its attitude toward countries that abstained from the vote. Dacic believes that Montenegro, for instance, should abstain and show respect towards Serbia's problems, given that it supported Kosovo's application.

Dacic expressed his astonishment at Ukraine and Hungary's approaches and described the approval of Kosovo's application as a disgrace. He claimed that the process would harm the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue talks for the normalization of relations. According to Dacic, this decision represents the twilight of the Council of Europe charter since it is the first time that a request is made for a land that is not a state and is not recognized by the United Nations.

EU Commission spokesman Peter Stano said that the bloc's institutions have taken note of Serbia's vote against accepting Kosovo's application for membership in the Council of Europe. The approval of Kosovo's membership is expected to have far-reaching implications for Serbia's foreign policy, especially its relations with countries that supported Kosovo's application or abstained from the vote.

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