First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dacic had a meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece Nikolaos Kotzias in Belgrade today.
At a news conference following the meeting, Ministers Dacic and Kotzias underlined that Serbia and Greece were traditional friends, both noting that no outstanding issues existed in the bilateral relations between their countries.

"It is necessary that our mutual cooperation be enhanced and best organized to enable our countries to be of assistance to each other", stated the Serbian Foreign Minister.

Minister Dacic pointed out that his discussions with the Greek Foreign Minister focused on the cooperation between the two Ministries, the High-Level Cooperation Council between Serbia and Greece, current foreign policy situation and the situation in the region.

Minister Kotzias emphasized that Serbia belonged to the European family, that his country felt responsibility for the stability of the region, and that it would cooperate with Serbia.

"We discussed the situation in the region, as well as how to transpose our friendship into practical cooperation not only in the European Union, but wherever we can be of assistance to each other.

Greek Foreign Minister Nikolaos Kotzias stated that the Hellenic Republic would not recognize the independence of Kosovo, adding that Kosovo's trade representative office in Athens would not be a diplomatic mission.

Minister Kotzias invited Minister Dacic to the Meeting between the EU Member States and five potential EU countries, to take place in May, which – he said – was accepted by the Serbian Foreign Minister.

After the meeting, Minister Dacic presented to the Greek Foreign Minister a gold coin, issued by the National Bank of Serbia in 2014 on the occasion of the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War; Trade Agreement between the Kingdom of Serbia and the Kingdom of Greece of 1882; and the 1913 Treaty of Friendship and Alliance between Serbia and Greece.