First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic is attending the First Conference of States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) held in Cancun, Mexico. In addition to taking part in the Conference, Minister Dacic had a series of bilateral meetings with the Foreign Affairs Ministers of Mexico, Guatemala, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago:

“On the second day of the Conference of States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty, organized by the UN here in Mexico, I had very good bilateral talks that I am very pleased with. Besides the key aim of presenting Serbia’s activities with regard to arms trade control, we have also achieved vital goals in terms of bilateral contacts with countries that are currently important for our country, especially in relation to the issue of Kosovo and Metohija. I had very good talks with the host, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mexico. Next year, Serbia and Mexico will mark the 70th anniversary of establishing the diplomatic relations. What is very important for us is that no changes will be made to Mexico’s support, and Serbia appreciates its full understanding regarding the issue of preservation of our country’s territorial integrity, i.e. the unilaterally proclaimed independence of Kosovo and Metohija. A similar view was also conveyed to me by the Foreign Minister of Trinidad and Tobago. This is yet another very important country, aiming to be ATT centers. We have established that Trinidad and Tobago is a very strong and principled supporter of Serbia’s position on the issue of territorial integrity. This is extremely important due to Trinidad and Tobago being a UNESCO Executive Board member, and the possibility of Kosovo’s membership application, that we consider to be contrary to the principles of international law, being added to this body’s agenda. Similar views are also shared by the Foreign Ministers of Jamaica and Guatemala, and I had talks on the same issue with the Assistant Foreign Affairs Minister of Argentina as well.
I can say that the countries we had bilateral talks with here today, hold a very firm position with regard to territorial integrity, and this is not so due to their friendship with Serbia or the problems experienced in their own territories, but simply because they believe international law should be based on principles – and not interests or use of force. We have achieved the purpose of our visit, which was to strengthen relations with countries having a friendly attitude towards Serbia and our country’s vital and most difficult issue, the issue of Kosovo and Metohija.

In this context, these five countries, Mexico, Argentina, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Guatemala will continue supporting Serbia’s policy, meaning the will not to recognize the unilaterally proclaimed independence of Kosovo and Metohija.

In Mexico, I also had an opportunity to talk with European representatives who attended this meeting, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Luxembourg Jean Asselborn and Head of Swiss diplomacy Didier Burkhalter.

With my counterpart from Luxembourg I discussed the issue that, given its current EU Presidency, this country is interested in the most at the moment - the problem of migrants. Asselborn considers this to be the top issue in Europe and, in this context, a conference of Ministers of Foreign Affairs and of Interior is to be held in Hungary, tentatively in early October, and include participation of EU member states, as well as of the states from our region being affected by the migrant and refugee crisis. He also believes that Serbia should open the first negotiating chapters by the end of the year, and I expect that the Presidency of the Council of the European Union is to visit Serbia in the coming months”, said Minister Dacic in Mexico.