Djuric: Kosovo-Metohija issue a top national priority for Serbia

TALLINN - Serbian FM Marko Djuric, who is visiting Estonia, met with the director of Tallinn-based International Centre for Defence and Security Indrek Kannik on Monday evening.

During a round table discussion that followed, Djuric spoke with the Centre's management and researchers.

Speaking about Serbia's foreign policy priorities, Djuric said the country's foreign policy was based on implementing strategic national objectives: preservation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty and respect of the established principles of international law, EU membership, development of good-neighbourly relations and advancement of regional cooperation, advancement of cooperation with the world's most significant global political actors, as well as economic development and development of bilateral relations with all countries.

"Our country has the same right as any other country in the world to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity, which is why the Kosovo-Metohija issue remains a top national and state issue for us," Djuric noted.

He noted that, despite the fact Serbia had embarked on the dialogue with Pristina with a readiness for compromise and compliance with agreements, it could be said that, after more than ten years, the other side showed no readiness for dialogue and compromise or for meeting previous agreements.

"Contrarily to dialogue, Albin Kurti's regime in Pristina is doing everything to make the position of the Serb population in Kosovo-Metohija more difficult," Djuric said, noting that he could not name any positive step the Pristina institutions had taken in the past years to facilitate the position of the Serb community.

"On the contrary, I could name countless cases of violence, which has escalated especially after Albin Kurti's rise to power," he said.

Last year alone, 12,000 people moved out of Serb-populated areas in Kosovo-Metohija, while more than 80 ethnically motivated incidents have been registered in 2024 alone, Djuric said.