Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivan Mrkic received today the Secretary General of the Council of Europe (CoE) Thorbjørn Jagland who is visiting Belgrade to attend the CoE Ministerial Conference "Freedom of expression and democracy in the digital age".

The cooperation between the Republic of Serbia and the Council of Europe was assessed as very good in the talks, along with the expressed belief that it would be continued in the same spirit also in the future.

Special attention was paid to the further involvement of the Council of Europe in Kosovo and Metohija, reform of the monitoring mechanisms of the Organization and other matters concerning the cooperation between Serbia and the Council of Europe.

Minister Mrkic said that it was very important for Serbia that the Council of Europe continued with its status-neutral engagement in Kosovo and Metohija.

He expressed satisfaction with the re-nomination of Thorbjørn Jagland to the post of Secretary General of the Council of Europe, emphasizing that he could count on the support of Serbia.

The Secretary General of the Council of Europe commended the efforts invested by Serbia in the processes of internal reforms and European integration. He particularly positively spoke about Serbia's constructive approach in the dialogue with Pristina.