Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said late on Thursday that the claim Pristina has enough votes to join UNESCO was "a big lie."

"In all the meetings the president and I have had here, this subject was also discussed," said Dacic, who is in New York as part of the Serbian delegation, led by Aleksandar Vucic, taking part in the UN General Assembly.

According to Beta, the minister said that both Kosovo Deputy PM Behgjet Pacolli - who made the claim earlier in the day - and Kosovo President Hashim Thaci "will lose in UNESCO next time they put forward their candidature, just as they did two years ago."

"A large number of our friends not only has an unchanged position in the opposite direction (of Pristina's bid), but many countries have changed their position in a positive direction for Serbia. That means the countries that abstained (in 2015) will now vote against Kosovo's admission to UNESCO," Dacic said.

He added that Pristina, if it wishes UNESCO to decide on its bid this year, must submit an application by mid-October. UNESCO's General Conference will then be held in November, and the next one in 2019.

"So far there have been no hints that they will apply, I think they fear losing. I don't recommend to them to put forward their candidature," Dacic concluded.

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