Djuric meets with Greek FM

NEW YORK - Serbian FM Marko Djuric met with Greek FM Giorgos Gerapetritis in New York on Wednesday to inform him of the difficult position of Serbs in the autonomous province of Kosovo-Metohija.

Djuric said that, based on the traditional friendship and close ties between the two countries and the two nations, Serbia was committed to further step up bilateral political dialogue with Greece at high and the highest level and strengthen cooperation in all fields of mutual interest, the Serbian MFA said in a statement.

He said Serbia was interested in advancing its economic cooperation with Greece, especially by increasing the trade volume as well as through an inflow of Greek investments.

Djuric thanked Greece for its persevering position of non-recognition of the unilaterally declared independence of the so-called Kosovo, noting that Serbia hoped that Greece, also as a non-permanent UN Security Council member, would continue to support a resolution of the problem in the Kosovo-Metohija province through dialogue, with full respect of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia and UNSCR 1244.

He informed the Greek counterpart of the difficult position the Kosovo-Metohija Serbs were in due to Pristina's unilateral acts, and noted that the fight for their human and political rights also represented a defence of the fundamental European values.

Speaking about Serbia's EU path, he particularly thanked Greece as a member of the Friends of the Western Balkans Group for advocating a faster EU accession process for the region.