United Nations Secretary General (UN SG) António Guterres, said on Friday during the meeting with the Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, that he follows the progress of Serbia and commended the initiative to open an internal dialogue on Kosovo, Serbian media reported.

During the meeting, the Serbian President Vucic highlighted that Serbia considers the United Nations as one of the most important international organizations, from the perspective of the protection of Serbia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and that importance would be even higher during the mandate of António Guterres, a press release from the Office of the Serbian President said.

Vucic also commended the work of UNMIK in Kosovo, which presence is of crucial importance for Serbia, having in mind that the UN framework is based on the UN SC Resolution 1244 and is a guarantee of the status neutrality of international presence in Kosovo.

Meanwhile, UN SG Guterres also expressed gratitude for the participation of the Serbian army and police personnel in UN peacekeeping operations, Serbian media reported.