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Dacic: Heavy struggle over Kosovo's membership in UNESCO (RTV)

Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said today that ahead is a serious fight of Serbia over Kosovo's intentions to join some international organizations, since it is expected of the Kosovo authorities to apply for membership in the Council of Europe and UNESCO.

Dacic said at a session of the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee, when submitting a report on the work of his ministry in 2014, that it was important for Serbia to have an active approach to this problem and to do more to prevent it.

"We are expecting a tough fight over Kosovo's membership in some international institutions. It is expected, I do not know when, that Kosovo will apply for membership in the CoE, UNESCO. For the OSCE, it is impossible, because decisions are made by consensus, but at every meeting, the representatives of Albania, and sometimes the US, are asking when Kosovo will participate," Dacic said.

According to him, Serbia does not dispute the possibility, right and need of the Pristina representatives to participate in various regional meetings, but it challenges Kosovo membership, because that would mean prejudging status.

He added that, in previous year, the Ministry had continued efforts to preserve the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country and further prevention of recognition of the independence of Kosovo, and that in this respect, in the forthcoming period, Serbia should pay attention to the traditionally friendly countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia which are under pressure to recognize independence.

"That's what said the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Chile and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kenya. In circumstances when we are far from these countries, when there is no longer such a cohesive factor as in Tito's time, when each of these regions has its own problems, we cannot expect that someone will be our friend forever, and that we only cherish friendship," said Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs.