Djuric, Brnabic thank African states for support in UN

BELGRADE - Opening an Africa Days ceremony alongside Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabic, Serbian FM Marko Djuric thanked the 37 African nations that did not support a UN General Assembly resolution on Srebrenica on Thursday.

"At the beginning of the new government's term, I want to convey to all who have gathered here that we have received clear instructions and directions from top state officials to step up the work on advancement of relations with brotherly and friendly African states," Djuric said at the Palace of Serbia in Belgrade.

"With African states, we do not only share a past, but also a future in which we will grow and develop together," he said.

"I had the honour of representing Serbia alongside Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic at the just-finished UNGA session, where, through a negative political campaign, an attempt was made to put a stigma of genocide and disgrace on the country I am representing. I want to thank African states for the fact that 37 of 54 African countries refused to back the resolution," Djuric noted, adding that Serbia would not forget who its friends were.

Conveying Vucic's gratitude for the "enormous courage" demonstrated by African states in the UNGA vote, Brnabic said the cooperation with African nations would be continued.

"As FM Marko Djuric said, as many as 37 of 54 (African) states sided with Serbia in the UN yesterday. That is close to 70 per cent, because they recognised that the resolution is contrary to the Bosnia and Herzegovina constitution, that it was created in secrecy without any consultations whatsoever, without transparency or a desire for an agreement that would contribute to reconciliation," Brnabic said, noting that, instead, the resolution was reopening "old wounds."

Thirty-one African countries abstained in the vote and six voted against the UNGA resolution.

She also thanked 43 African countries for respecting Serbia's territorial integrity and sovereignty.

"As many as 43 African states, or 80 per cent of all states on the African continent, firmly stand with Serbia in their respect of the fundamental principle of international law and the UN Charter - the inviolability of the territorial integrity of internationally recognised states," Brnabic also said.