Orlic: So-called Kosovo's admission to CoE would be absurd

BELGRADE - Serbian Parliament Speaker Vladimir Orlic met with the rapporteur of the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Axel Schafer on Monday and expressed commitment to further cooperation.

Speaking about the situation in Kosovo-Metohija, Orlic said it was extremely difficult - exclusively through the fault of Albin Kurti, the Serbian parliament said in a statement.

"Rewarding the so-called 'Kosovo' with Council of Europe membership would be absurd after all it has been doing. Not only Serbia is saying that - so are many others in Europe," Orlic said, noting that Serbia's position was clear and that, as President Aleksandar Vucic had reiterated many times, dialogue was the only right way to reach any sustainable solution, and that, unlike Kurti, Serbia wanted peace.

Speaking about the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, Orlic informed Schafer of the daily terror, violence and threats to the security of Serbs in Kosovo-Metohija, of Pristina's unacceptable attitude to previously signed agreements, flagrant attempts to cause an escalation and destroy any dialogue.

Orlic also noted the overall progress achieved by Serbia in many fields, especially when it comes to democratic standards, rule of law and human and minority rights in the country.