Minister Dacic holds an extraordinary press conference

Ivica DacicFirst Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dacic held today a press conference, informing that one more country has annulled its recognition of Kosovo’s independence.
Minister Dacic said that the public would be informed about the country concerned as soon as the official note to that effect has been received from the relevant country.

Serbia’s Foreign Minister further stated that all countries that revoked their recognition are subject of great pressure by the Western countries. He reminded of last week’s visit to Serbia by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Liberia, who delivered the note on the revocation of the recognition of Kosovo’s independence; the revocation which was confirmed by the country’s President George Weah in a telephone conversation with Minister Dacic.

The Minister also stated that questions were often put to him as to why the number of countries that have recognized Kosovo is so important, to which he replied with a counter question, asking for the reason underlying their concern about it.
Minister Dacic emphasized that Albanians requested in Brussels that Serbia put an end to its activities of lobbying for revocation of the recognition.

“I travelled half the globe, and countries were unable to find their papers concerning the recognition. They wondered, not knowing who had recognized Kosovo, and when that took place”, Dacic said.

In this context, Minister Dacic presented the note received from Sao Tome and Principe, of 7 January 2013, indicating that the President of the Republic declared, in accordance with the powers vested in him, that the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe did not carry out the procedure concerning the recognition of the sovereignty of Kosovo.

Minister Dacic also stated that there were notes concerning revocation of the recognition of Kosovo by Suriname, of 30 October 2017; Guinea Bissau, of 21 November 2017; Burundi, of 15 February 2018, and Liberia, of 20 June 2018.
The Serbian Foreign Minister emphasized that the “matter” of Kosovo’s independence was by no means over, noting that the world’s most powerful countries, with the exception of the Western countries, did not recognize Kosovo, including four EU Member States.

Dacic thanked Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic for supporting these activities, adding that they were essential for Serbia’s negotiating position, as they demonstrate that the case has not been lost.
Saying that Serbia is ready for a compromise, Dacic called on all critics to come up with anything that would constitute an agreement or compromise.

The Foreign Minister expressed his expectation that, in the next few months, the number of countries that have recognized Kosovo will drop below one hundred, referring to 116 – which Pristina indicates as the number of countries that have recognized Kosovo, as a mirage.

Minister Dacic drew attention to lobbying as an important activity, since Kosovo may apply for membership in the United Nations, which can be prevented by Russia’s veto. Eventually, every vote matters, underlined the Serbian Foreign Minister.