German Radio Deutschlandfunk carried the statement made by Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dacic on the eve of the Conference on the Western Balkans, which is to take place today in Berlin. The Minister stated that Serbia, as the leading country in the region, looked forward to assuming the OSCE Chairmanship. The Minister voiced his hope that the Balkans would become a single market, i.e. that all the countries of the region would jointly uphold their interests, and jointly walk the EU path, but each at a speed it deserved.

Minister Dacic said that he was aware of the fact that the EU Member States were not unanimous when it comes to the EU enlargement, which the Minister found natural having in mind the economic crisis which had hit even the economically developed EU Member States. The Minister added that the price paid by less developed countries to join the EU was not that high compared to the price and consequences they would have to face in case they failed to become EU Member States.

In the second part of the Conference, Minister Dacic will meet his counterparts, Foreign Ministers of the Western Balkan countries. As Deutschlandfunk reports, when speaking about Kosovo and Metohija, the Serbian Foreign Minister underscored that the only possible solution was one based on peace and agreement.