First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dacic received today Ambassador of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Ri Pyong Du, accredited to the Republic of Serbia on a non-resident basis, with residence in Romania.

Noting that there were no open issues in the two countries’ bilateral relations, both sides underlined the long-standing friendship between the two countries marking the 70th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations this year. In this context, the collocutors noted the need for strengthening political dialogue and discussed the possibilities for exchanging visits.

Minister Dacic reiterated Serbia’s position in support of the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and resolution of the nuclear issue of DPR Korea by peaceful means, i.e., through talks between the parties involved. Furthermore, the Serbian side welcomed the historic summit between the United States and the DPR Korea which took place on 12 June in Singapore, voicing the hope that this positive trend would also continue in the future, with a view to reaching lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Ambassador Ri Pyong Du expressed readiness to strengthen bilateral cooperation between DPR Korea and the Republic of Serbia, recalling the traditionally friendly relations between the two countries lasting for many decades.

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First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dacic had a meeting today in Nicosia with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides.

Today’s meeting came as a follow-up to the agreements reached in the two Ministers’ last sit-down in Belgrade, held on 10 May, when President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades made an official visit to Serbia, and when it was agreed that the two Ministers would meet for regular consultations.

In the meeting, the collocutors examined the Serbia-Cyprus bilateral relations, further cooperation in international organizations and forums, cooperation between the two Foreign Ministries and the European integration process of the Republic of Serbia.

Minister Dacic informed his Cypriot counterpart about the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, while Minister Christodoulides briefed Minister Dacic about the current situation regarding the Cypriot issue. The two Ministers also looked into the need to organize cooperation between the two countries’ diaspora, and touched on the preparations for the next intergovernmental session.

Minister Christodoulides reiterated that the Republic of Cyprus would never recognize the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo, while First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Dacic reiterated Serbia’s unconditional support to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus.

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First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dacic, together with Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic and Prime Minister of the Republic of Srpska Zeljka Cvijanovic, participated in a ceremony held at the United States Congress to mark the 100th anniversary since the Serbian flag flew over the White House.

“I am very glad that something I have talked about for many years is being marked in this way, both in Washington D.C. and Belgrade.

I saved from oblivion an event dating back to one hundred years ago and brought back to focus a story that is now publicly talked about by the U.S. Administration. I refer to the fact that Serbia enjoyed huge support of the U.S. during World War I as well as that U.S. President Woodrow Wilson included Serbia and the Serbian people in the Fourteen Points for the resolution of global crisis, where, among other things, he noted that Serbia should be accorded free and secure access to the sea.

The United States was able to fully understand the magnitude of sacrifice offered by Serbia and its people in the World War I. Of course, our cooperation continued during the World War II as well.

I was able to put this story back on the map and, as a result, a monument to Woodrow Wilson will soon be inaugurated in Belgrade.

Furthermore, while we conducted our research on this matter, we found out that the city of Belgrade, as early as 1919, named the square near the railway station after President Wilson. Today, we are contemplating to build a monument in honor of both President Wilson and Mihajlo Pupin – the symbols of U.S.-Serbia friendship.

It is important that we use this important anniversary as an opportunity to reset our relations. The ties of cooperation and support have subsided over the decades since. In that period, we failed to identify common interests and find a common denominator, but the time has come for us to improve our relations. It is important that we discuss these matters with the new U.S. Administration, and I believe that this is an opportunity for Serbia and its people.

Today, I had a very good meeting with Assistant Secretary of State Wess Mitchell. The new administration is willing to listen to Serbia’s proposals and positions as well as to come up with creative solutions, instead of following the existing clichés and practices of the previous administration.

These contacts are important, it is also important that the Serbian Prime Minister and Prime Minister of the Republic of Srpska are here with us today, as are U.S. Congressmen and other representatives of the U.S. Administration.

I will meet with Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs Mr. John Bolton and participate in the Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom, hosted by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

This is a good opportunity for us to identify common interests that we lost sight of in the past decades that can benefit from events like this one.

On Saturday, a similar event will take place in Belgrade where the Serbian flag will be flown over the residence of the U.S. Ambassador”, said Serbian Foreign Minister after the ceremony held in U.S. Congress.

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First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic was on a two-day visit to the U.S., to attend the Ministerial Conference dedicated to religious freedoms and the ceremony marking the hundredth anniversary of flying the Serbian flag over the White House.

Serbian Foreign Minister had very successful meetings with the U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton and the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Wess Mitchell.

“This was an extremely significant visit with good outcomes for Serbia. It was an excellent opportunity to discuss resetting and revitalizing our relations with the U.S., which is why the meetings and the conference I took part in were particularly useful.

I attended the ceremony in the U.S. Congress marking a historic event, i.e. the hundredth anniversary of flying the Serbian flag over the White House.

I had talks with the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Wess Mitchell and National Security Advisor John Bolton. The talks were constructive and held in a positive atmosphere.

New U.S. Administration is more attuned to our positions, demonstrates better understanding of our views as well as an interest in resetting our relations and helping stabilize the situation in the region.

According to U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton, they considered that the past U.S. policy towards the region was “autopilot-guided” – the policy defined 20-30 years ago. The current U.S. Administration is ready to at least take into account on an equal footing our proposals for the resolution of major problems in the region – a lasting solution to the Kosovo and Metohija problem certainly being one of those.

I conveyed to Mr. Bolton President Vucic’s regards, with whom he spoke a few weeks ago.

We will maintain the contacts, and I repeat, with substantial U.S. support to dialogue. This is a huge change compared to only two years ago since in all talks with the representatives of U.S. institutions it was maintained that the Kosovo issue had already been resolved.

Today, a compromise solution is openly supported. At the moment, this is particularly positive and encouraging for Serbia, as a possibility to reach a solution in the interest of all parties involved through dialogue.

I also took part in the Conference on religious freedoms. It was a very important conference which included participants such as U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and the U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo. Mr. Kushner, President Trump’s advisor, was also present as well as many foreign ministers.

In my talks I focused on Serbia’s positions. I was under the impression and I told this to President Vucic that the situation seemed to have significantly changed compared to the past period. I also told him that we should take this opportunity to work with U.S. Administration to reach a solution for problems in the region, to reaffirm our foreign policy position and to pursue our EU path. Therefore, the problems in the region should be resolved whereby everybody stands to gain something instead of counting losses. It is a huge change indeed and perhaps a good sign that it coincides with this landmark event, the hundredth anniversary since the Serbian flag flew over the White House”, Serbian Foreign Minister said in Washington D.C.

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