SERBIA

VUCIC: FEDERICA MOGHERINI NOT TO BLAME FOR SUSPENSION OF DIALOGUE

BELGRADE, December 12 2018 (Beta) - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Dec. 12 that EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini was not responsible for the suspension of the Belgrade - Pristina dialogue, rather that only Belgrade and Pristina could be to blame for that. "Let them think carefully in Pristina about who is to blame. Let them think carefully who did and who did not want an agreement," Vucic told the Serbian Broadcasting Corporation. He added that he hoped there would be more understanding in the future and that Pristina would realize that it could not accomplish anything through "violent and illegal measures." According to the media, Vucic told reporters that the EU has been there to offer its good services. "Were we sometimes under the pressure of everything - well, yes, but one can always resist it. In the end it all depends on Belgrade and Pristina. We do not have such a personal attitude toward Mogherini, her team and work. [I want to] thank them for spending their time and giving our talks importance," said Vucic. Kosovo Premier Ramush Haradinaj said on Dec. 11 that the EU foreign minister, Federica Mogherini, was responsible for the suspension of the Belgrade - Pristina dialogue. "She has turned a dialogue on the normalization of relations into a dialogue on territory, which has caused damage to the region. It's regrettable because of the great stake of the European Union. Such a stance on her part is unacceptable," said Haradinaj.

DJORDJEVIC: MARRAKESH DECLARATION EXTENSION OF RESPONSIBLE POLICY ON MIGRANTS

BELGRADE, December 12 2018 (Beta) - Minister of Labor, Employment, Veteran and Social Policy Zoran Djordjevic said on Dec. 12 that the U.N. declaration on migrants which he had signed in Marrakesh was not binding, but was an extension of the Serbian government's policy of treating migrants responsibly. Djordjevic told the Serbian Broadcasting Corporation that the government wanted to take care of the migrants passing through the country and added that there were currently 4,000 migrants in Serbia, 3,000 of them children. "When the migrant crisis began, it was seen that different states had different policies. Our policy has always been peaceable, in history, too, and we now do not have that kind of xenophobia towards people. We are an open state and have no problem with those people passing through and going where they think it will be better for them," said Djordjevic. Asked whether it was true that Serbia would not longer be able to criticize migrants because it had initialed the agreement, Djordjevic said that nothing had been signed or voted on, and that Serbia had only pledged to respect their human rights. "Intolerance and the bad things being said about migrants lead to the development of xenophobia toward them and that is a bad thing. Serbia is not part of those societies, we are an open society and we know full well what it means to be a refugee," said Djordjevic. Several countries have shown reservation or withdrawn from the non-binding U.N. Global Compact for Migration, which was adopted by acclamation in Marrakesh by the representatives of 164 U.N. member states. As a resolution, the document is to be voted on at the U.N. General Assembly on Dec. 19.

DJORDJEVIC: KOREA HAS BEEN DONATING ASSETS FOR BETTER MIGRATION MANAGEMENT FOR YEARS NOW

BELGRADE, December 12 2018 (Beta) - The Serbian minister for labor, employment, veterans' and welfare issues, Zoran Djordjevic, stated on Dec. 12 that the Republic of Korea had been donating assets to Serbia for years now, especially in the form of technical equipment, to strengthen the capacities for managing the migrant crisis, it was stated by the minister's office. Djordjevic met with the Korean ambassador to Serbia, Hyung-Chan Che, and discussed the development of relations between the two countries, indicating that cooperation would "particularly become more intensive in the field of protection of people with disabilities, in the context of the ongoing campaign Equal (J=EDNAKI)." Ambassador Che said Korea would support the Serbian government's efforts on the path to the EU and praised the reforms in the fields of protection of rights and accessibility for the disabled. Conditions have been created for cooperation between Serbia and Korea to additionally develop in fields of common strategic interest, he stated. The ambassador added that he would make the utmost personal effort to raise that cooperation to an even higher level.