Djuric meets with Latvian FM in Riga

RIGA - Serbian FM Marko Djuric met with his Latvian counterpart Baiba Braze in Riga on Wednesday, and informed her of the difficult position of the Serb community in Kosovo-Metohija as well as of the challenges facing Serbia regarding that issue.

Djuric, who is on a one-day working visit to Latvia, noted that Serbia was very committed to finding rational and compromise solutions.

"When it comes to the international arena and our region, I would like to express gratitude to our Latvian friends for their presence and assistance in maintaining peace and stability as part of the KFOR mission. I believe it is crucial to continue to support the EU-facilitated dialogue," Djuric noted.

He stressed that he had the privilege and honour of being the first Serbian FM in years to visit friendly Latvia, with which Serbia maintains relations that will soon turn a hundred years old.

"Both Latvia and Serbia are freedom-loving countries, and they also share a commitment to the EU. Serbia has a clear ambition to complete all the necessary reforms to join the EU by 2027. That includes political, economic and institutional reforms, and we can certainly learn from the experiences of our colleagues and friends from Latvia and the Baltic," Djuric said.

He said the discussions with Braze had proceeded in the spirit of a productive exchange on the EU accession agenda and the integration process, the Serbian MFA said in a statement.

"We are grateful for the vision of supporting the EU enlargement, not only when it comes to Serbia but also the wider Balkan region," Djuric said.

He said it was very important to strengthen bilateral economic ties.

Djuric said he would also meet with the president of the Latvian chamber of commerce later in the day to discuss new directions of cooperation between the two countries.

He said he agreed with Braze that Serbia and Latvia shared certain positions in the international arena and continued to support the principles of international law.

"We will continue to develop bilateral relations with Latvia," Djuric said, noting that Braze was always welcome in Belgrade and that he looked forward to her soonest possible return visit.

Braze noted she had met with Djuric on several occasions in the past, both at EU meetings and a NATO summit also attended by partner states.

She said Djuric's visit was very important for both countries as it represented an opportunity to discuss bilateral relations in detail.

She noted that Latvia-Serbia relations dated back to 1926 and were a foundation for building future ties.

Braze said they had also discussed Serbia's EU path as well as sensitive issues such as the Ukraine crisis and the significance of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue.