Djuric, Tremonti discuss Pristina's unilateral moves

ROME - Serbian FM Marko Djuric, who is on an official visit to Rome, voiced concern on Wednesday over continued unilateral and provocative moves by Pristina and said the presence and engagement of Italian KFOR troops in Kosovo-Metohija were extremely important, especially when it comes to protection of the Visoki Decani monastery.

Djuric said this at a meeting with the chairman of the foreign affairs committee of the Italian House of Representatives, Giulio Tremonti.

Noting that he was pleased to meet with Tremonti again after his recent visit to Belgrade and to have an opportunity to continue constructive discussions about parliamentary cooperation as an important segment of overall bilateral relations, Djuric noted that Serbia appreciated Italy's persevering support for its European integration, especially as part of an informal group of EU member states known as Friends of the Western Balkans.

Djuric conveyed concern over continued unilateral and provocative moves by Pristina that not only erode the Brussels dialogue but pose a serious threat to the survival of Serbs in Kosovo-Metohija, as testified by the fact that nearly 15 per cent of the Serb population has left the territory of the province in the past year alone, the Serbian MFA said in a statement.

Djuric said the presence and engagement of Italian troops as part of the KFOR mission were extremely important and gave a substantial contribution to preservation of the security situation in Kosovo-Metohija, especially through protection of the Visoki Decani monastery.

Speaking about the increasingly intensive bilateral economic cooperation and investments, Djuric pointed out that Serbia would continue to work with commitment on retaining its position of Italy's top external trade partner in the Western Balkans and noted that bilateral goods and services trade had exceeded 5 bln euros last year.