Djuric: I invited Blinken to visit Serbia

WASHINGTON - Serbian FM Marko Djuric said he had had an opportunity to speak with US State Secretary Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Washington and that he had invited him to visit Serbia.

Speaking at a reception for Serbian reporters at the Serbian embassy in Washington, Djuric said high-level political dialogue with the US was necessary for continuing the economic cooperation as well as for resolving issues "we disagree on," such as the Kosovo-Metohija issue.

"We need dialogue with the US at the highest political level not only for the sake of continuing the growth and development of our economy, America being the number one partner in terms of services, right in areas relating to high technology and to what is the engine of our economic development - that cooperation is necessary to us also to resolve issues we disagree on, such as the issue of the status of Kosovo-Metohija, which cannot be resolved in a positive manner without active engagement from the highest political level in the US," Djuric said.

He noted that Serbia's presence at the NATO summit did not mean a change of the course set by the decisions of the National Security Council or the Serbian parliament, but that it meant that "Serbia is strengthening friendships, strengthening partnerships, strengthening its position in this part of the world, too."

"Over the past few days in Washington, we have been lobbying in the Western part of the international community, talking to our friends about how to strengthen our economic, political, security and overall relations with this part of the world," Djuric said.

Asked if Serbia was now closer to the West, Djuric said he did not believe attendance of one event or a single statement could signal a strategic change, but that he did believe that continued efforts invested in Washington in the past several years were "leading to Serbia's position in this part of the world being better than it was a few years ago."