First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dacic participated in Tirana today in the second Trilateral Meeting of Foreign Ministers of Serbia, Italy and Albania.

The Head of Serbian diplomacy said after the meeting that it was important to continue with the practice of trilateral meetings between Serbian, Italian and Albanian Heads of diplomacy, for this contributed to the stability in the region, recognizing the need to work on the realization of joint projects.

Emerging out of the meeting with his Italian and Albanian counterparts, Paolo Gentiloni and Ditmir Bushati, Minister Dacic stressed that the relations between Serbia and Italy were very good, the same as between Italy and Albania.
"For this reason we need to maintain this format because it can be of great assistance to us in the period to come", said Minister Dacic, underlining that it was essential to agree on steps to be take in the coming period, on the basis of mutual interests.

Minister Dacic warned that all the projects discussed so far within a number of joint initiatives and mechanisms would come to nothing, unless a common model for their realization was devised.

"In addition to defining joint projects, we need to find sustainable modes for the implementation of vitally important projects in transport infrastructure and energy sectors, as wells as of other projects related to culture and youth", said the Head of Serbian diplomacy.

The Minister also pointed to problems that they shared in common, such as those related to energy and, in particular, gas supply.

Dacic said that he and his interlocutors also discussed security issues and the migrant crisis, recalling that there was no unified position of the EU on the response to the influx of migrants and refugees.

He stated that response by some countries that is expected these days would "like communicating vessels or a chain reaction, affect both our position and that of Macedonia, resulting in a situation that requires the crisis to be dealt with at the Greece-Macedonia border".

"We will handle the situation in a way which is much more European and humane than that demonstrated by some EU Member States and, yet, we cannot allow the Western Balkans to be turned into a collective centre for refugees, since we are unable to cope with this potential generator of high tensions leading to political instability in the region", he underlined.

Referring to the relations between Serbia and Albania, he said that the aim was to make these relations more relaxed, shifting focus away from the differences that exist on certain political issues, while the two countries continued to seek common interests for the future.

"Politically, we are very much pleased with the good cooperation which has been established between Serbia and Albania. We will continue to pursue this course of action. We are also pleased with numerous projects we have launched together, such as the establishment of the Youth Office, student exchange projects and others", said Dacic.

The Minister announced that the next trilateral meeting would be held in the autumn or in early 2017, in Belgrade.