Kosovo’s associate membership in the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF) does not mean it has been recognized as a state, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said yesterday, TV N1 reports.

Speaking at the OIF summit of heads of state and government in the Armenian capital Yerevan, Dacic said that there are 13 permanent members of the organization which have not recognized Kosovo. A Foreign Ministry press release said that those countries submitted a declaration to the summit stating that their stand on Kosovo had not changed.

“Thirteen OIF permanent member states have submitted a declaration, a so-called interpretative statement, which says that the fact that Kosovo has been granted the status of associate member does not mean that it has been recognized as a state and that their stand on Kosovo remains unchanged,” Dacic is quoted as saying.

Dacic recalled that the OIF brings together countries and regions and cited the example of the US state of Louisiana and several regions of Canada which are also the members.

He said that Serbia had been granted the status of associate member of the OIF in Yerevan.