Đurić: Highly successful participation of the Serbian delegation at this year’s Antalya Diplomacy Forum

“Following today’s roundtable discussions and bilateral meetings, I can say that it is entirely clear that the path to stability, peace, and progress in the Balkan region runs through Belgrade, as well as, of course, through other centers. However, Belgrade and Serbia represent a central point for bringing the region together in terms of the economy, infrastructure, and the stabilization of open political issues,” Đurić emphasized.

The Serbian foreign minister described today’s meeting of the Balkan Peace Platform as “very productive.”

“In the coming months, we expect a leaders’ summit of the Balkan Peace Platform, which will have a concrete agenda on how to enhance our cooperation on issues important to citizens, such as joint efforts to mitigate the consequences of natural disasters—how to align our capacities, facilitate border crossings, encourage cooperation among younger generations through new ideas and initiatives, and create a climate that will give younger generations confidence that we have a different future,” Đurić stated.

The minister also referred to bilateral meetings that marked today’s participation in Antalya with his counterparts from Albania and Zambia, which he also assessed positively.

“I had an excellent meeting with the new Foreign Minister of Albania. I believe that cooperation between Serbia and Albania is very important for both countries, for the future and stability of the region. We agreed that, while taking into account the Albanian community in Serbia, the Serbian community in Albania, the growing economic cooperation, and the future strengthening of diplomatic and consular presence in both countries—as well as cooperation in the European context—we will exchange visits and build a picture grounded in reality that will demonstrate that relations in our region can and must be different,” Đurić explained.

Speaking about the meeting with Zambia’s Foreign Minister, Đurić pointed out that Serbia does not focus solely on Europe and its immediate neighborhood, which, as he noted, is also its comparative advantage.

“Ever since the time of President Josip Broz Tito and President Kenneth Kaunda, our two countries have maintained excellent relations, and Zambia supports Serbia’s territorial integrity. At the same time, Zambia is a country with significant mining and other potential, and, as was the case during the time of the former Yugoslavia, I believe our companies across various sectors can generate strong returns through this cooperation,” Đurić said.

Referring to today’s public roundtable organized by the Regional Cooperation Council, which brought together representatives of political centers and territories from the region, Đurić stressed that Serbia, as always, sought to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

“I am somewhat disappointed with the performance of Mr. Elmedin Konaković, who, after our efforts to advance bilateral cooperation, chose to criticize—on camera, without arguments or grounds, but with considerable passion—the concerns expressed by President Aleksandar Vučić regarding non-transparent security arrangements being developed in the region. In the spirit of what appears to be a genuine pre-election campaign, for which he is evidently preparing, he used the gathering—with strong rhetoric and not particularly positive messaging—to criticize official Belgrade, perhaps without sufficiently considering the responsibility we all share to foster relations between our peoples,” Đurić noted.

The minister conveyed that Serbia responded with arguments and demonstrated through actions that it is part of the solution, emphasizing that such matters should not be handled in front of cameras but through dialogue.

“We have shown that today, as we will in the future, we stand on the side of peace and cooperation; that we care equally about all peoples and respect the territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina; that we also care for and value the Republic of Srpska, but never consider it our role as diplomats to conduct battles in front of cameras—to appear strong, brave, and heroic on screen—but to resolve problems. The region has not recovered for 35 years from such displays of strength and heroism in front of cameras. Let us show that we can do things differently,” Đurić urged.

The Serbian foreign minister concluded that such forums should not be used for collecting “cheap political points.”

“Of course, a single meeting does not determine success or failure in cooperation. Building sound regional cooperation is like a marathon, and we will continue to persevere, and we will never allow any individual to become an obstacle to good relations in the region, because they are far too valuable,” Minister Marko Đurić concluded.