Selakovic: We expect increased pressure on Serbia, we are grateful to Russia for its support

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Nikola Selakovic stated that he expected additional pressure from a part of the international community on our country in order to give up its position concerning the unilaterally declared independence of the so-called "Kosovo".

During his official visit to the Russian Federation, Minister Selakovic, in an interview for the Sputnik service in English, added that additional pressures on Serbia were possible in order to have it change positions when it comes to relations with Russia and China.

As Selakovic said on this occasion, Serbia was grateful to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov for the support that Russia extended to Serbia in international forums, including the United Nations.

However, Serbia also expected the European Union to influence Pristina, in order to enable the formation of the Community of Serb Municipalities, which was as much as eight years late, and that, instead of putting pressure on Belgrade, as a proven credible partner in the dialogue, strong pressure needed to be directed towards Pristina, Selakovic said.

The Serbian Foreign Minister reaffirmed that Belgrade was consistently committed to the dialogue, unlike the new provisional administration in Pristina, which openly stated that dialogue was not at the top of its list of priorities, and instead of showing a constructive attitude towards the dialogue, was sending provocative messages about unifying the self-proclaimed Kosovo and Albania.

Selakovic emphasized that Belgrade was open to compromise, as the only good and sustainable solution, but that compromise could not be a situation in which one loses everything and the other wins everything.

Discussing Serbia-Russia relations, Minister Selakovic stated that there was room for the promotion of cooperation in numerous areas, such as energy, agriculture, science and infrastructure.

He expressed the expectation that it would be possible for bilateral relations to be enriched also in the new 2 + 2 format, i.e., in the form of joint meetings of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defence of the two countries.

Minister Selakovic also expressed the expectation that the Cultural Center of Serbia in Moscow would be opened during his term of duty.