Appearing on RTS national television, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dacic underlined that there were no more Serbian citizens stranded at airports or facing similar difficulties, as well as that lists of our nationals wishing to return to Serbia from abroad were updated regularly.

The Minister stated that repatriation mission flights were scheduled according to priorities, with students, persons receiving medical treatment abroad and those on business trips having precedence over tourists.

Minster Dacic explained that a new category had emerged in the meantime - persons abroad who were newly unemployed.

He stressed that he had yet to come up with exact figures in terms of kilometers flown by Air Serbia and a total number of persons repatriated so far, but that this number, as of Friday, amounted to over 5000 of our compatriots whose return, either by planes or road vehicles, was arranged by the Ministry.

The Minister added that around 40 medical workers were transferred from Germany so far, returning to their home country to join efforts against Covid-19. Minister Dacic said that people had to understand that our authorities were unable to reach just about any location on the globe. However, he stressed that they should all be aware that they were required to contact diplomatic missions or consular posts relevant to them, in order for the authorities to determine how to have them reach particular destinations where from transfer home could be arranged.

He also recalled that Air Serbia flights did not only transfer passengers, but aid and goods as well. The Minister underlined that the only passenger flights to dispatch beyond the European continent were those to Abu Dhabi, Doha and Washington, D.C..

The Minister said that crossing a border was not an easy feat these days, and that tickets to certain destinations often could not even be purchased without previous state guarantees that the passengers would be received. He added that a flight to Dubai was scheduled for today, that the third flight to Malta so far takes off tomorrow, followed by flights to Bratislava and Prague on Tuesday, Stockholm and Oslo on Wednesday, Paris on Thursday and to Berlin and Frankfurt on Friday.

Discussing the global situation, Minister Dacic said that the problems experienced were commensurate to the size and development level of a certain country, with those most populous and developed facing biggest issues. He added that lessons were to be learned concerning our conduct after the crisis and that it was important to remember who helped us in difficult times. He underlined the assistance extended by China, recalling that Serbia had also lent them support and that he was the first Foreign Minister to visit the country during the epidemic. "We have also received aid from Russia, the EU, Norway, the United States, Turkey and the UAE", Dacic said.

Furthermore, the Minister underscored that Ministers of the Western Balkans addressed a letter to European commissioners requesting that the Western Balkans be exempt from bans on medical equipment and goods exports from the EU.