Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dacic talked today with Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon, in New York:

"At the meeting with Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon, we discussed his report and the situation in Kosovo and Metohija, and I pointed out that Serbia insisted on the UN Mission in Kosovo - UNMIK remaining in an unaltered mandate and with unchanged composition, that is the current number of employees and its budget, because we believe the Mission still plays an important role in Kosovo and Metohija. The Pristina authorities are trying to cause the Mission to leave Kosovo, and are highlighting this at every meeting of the Security Council devoted to Kosovo. The Serbian people and other non-Albanian communities have confidence solely in the UN Mission and it is, therefore, of great importance to us.

Ban Ki-moon showed interest in the course of the Brussels dialogue, and once again I expressed our view, how we believe that it is of crucial importance to form the Community of Serbian Municipalities as defined by the Brussels Agreement, which was signed long ago, but the Pristina side keeps finding reasons to delay the forming of the Community of Serbian Municipalities. This is key for the continuation of the dialogue. I also highlighted the actions of some countries, which can be heard at the meetings of the Security Council, and which invite other countries to recognise the unilaterally proclaimed independence of Kosovo, noting that this may negatively affect the Brussels dialogue. This kills the dialogue, but we want the dialogue, and not the policy of fait accompli, which Pristina, with its allies, wants to show as an already done deal and that we can only talk about some technical details. UN Security Council Resolution 1244, regardless of the fact that it was adopted in 1999, is still a valid document, based on which the UN Mission is deployed in Kosovo and Metohija, and on the other hand, it is the only legally binding document adopted by the UN. Serbia therefore considers that the dialogue must be resumed and we will not accept any policy of fait accompli.

In addition, Ban Ki-moon conveyed his greetings to Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and President of Serbia Tomislav Nikolic, and expressed his appreciation for what we have done for the UN – we put all agencies, the programmes and the overall administration of the UN under one roof by opening a UN House in Belgrade.

He also welcomed the participation of Serbian forces in UN peacekeeping missions; in this field, our country is a regional leader, and we are strengthening the credibility of our country and our armed forces, security forces in general, because these are not combat missions, but they occur around the world, and we gladly take part in such international operations that protect world peace and stability," said Minister Dacic in New York today.

Serbia has opted for peace and regional stability that cannot be built with constant attacks against the Serbian Government

"The news of suspending the investigation against one of the prime suspects in last year's attempted murder of Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic in Srebrenica shows that, in fact, Bosnian politicians are behind this attack.

Not only had they done nothing to identify the perpetrators and organisers for a year, they had also gone out of their way to protect them.

Serbia has opted for peace and regional stability, but these cannot be built with hatred and unceasing attacks against the Serbian Government and its Prime Minister, who acted statesmanlike only to suffer an assassination attempt and constant insults. It speaks volumes about these people, because Serbia will continue to pursue its policy of peace and reconciliation, for which we were commended by all leading politicians in the world."