Dacic: CoE's decision was expected, it will be ashamed of this day

BELGRADE - Serbian FM Ivica Dacic said on Monday a Council of Europe (CoE) decision to launch the procedure of reviewing the so-called Kosovo's application for membership in the organisation had been expected but would be detrimental to the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue.

Thirty-three of 46 CoE member states voted in favour of the move, seven, including Serbia, voted against, five abstained and one took no part in the vote.

"This is a day the CoE will be ashamed of," Dacic said, adding that the Serbian delegation had left the room after the vote as it had not wanted to take part in "tirades", but that Serbia had not left the organisation.

"This day is definitely also the twilight of the CoE statute because this is the first time an application from something that is not a state and is not recognised by the UN, from a territory that is not a UN member state, is to be reviewed," Dacic said.

He thanked Cyprus, Spain, Romania, Azerbaijan and Georgia for voting against and demonstrating that they are "our traditional friends", and expressed special gratitude to Hungary, which, too, voted against despite recognising the so-called Kosovo.

"On the other hand, we are really disappointed with the position and the approach of Greece and Slovakia as EU member states that abstained, above all, because we heard from them that they do not recognise Kosovo's independence. I would also like to remind that Bosnia and Herzegovina abstained. Imagine the irony! Imagine if Republika Srpska applied for membership now. What irony and brazenness! And they lecture us that we have an influence in a disintegration of the territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. They are directly participating in a disintegration of the territorial integrity of Serbia," Dacic said.

Noting the position of Ukraine, which also abstained, he said:

"Look at how many problems we are having with defending the territorial integrity of Ukraine... while Ukraine abstains in a vote about our territorial integrity. That is absolutely unacceptable."

"Also, Armenia was not in the room during the vote. We did not expect such moves from those countries," he added.

Dacic also said he did not know whether or not he was surprised by Montenegro's vote in favour, and noted that the country had thus once again supported a disintegration of Serbia's territorial integrity.

"I would like to really thank them for that," he said ironically.

"I do not know how Serbia deserved that, and I have to say it will definitely have certain consequences for our relations," Dacic said.

He said the decision made it clear to Serbia it had no right to protect its own territorial integrity and sovereignty but was obliged to defend the territorial integrity of any other country.

Dacic added that this was a lesson to Serbia showing that it must never lose a UN majority that supported it on the Kosovo-Metohija issue.