Djuric: So-called Kosovo is not and will not become CoE member

LUXEMBOURG - Serbian FM Marko Djuric said on Wednesday Pristina's application for Council of Europe (CoE) membership was not on the agenda of a CoE Committee of Ministers meeting in Luxembourg.

"The most important news for all citizens is that, today, Kosovo-Metohija, Serbia's southern province, is not and will not become a Council of Europe member," said Djuric, who is attending the Committee of Ministers meeting.

He said it was important that Quint states had not backed the inclusion of Pristina's application in the agenda, and noted that diplomatic activities by Serbia - above all, top-level activities by President Aleksandar Vucic in discussions with European leaders - had also prevented the so-called Kosovo from becoming a CoE member last year.

"In an address to the Committee of Ministers, I warned of the fact that, as we mark the anniversaries of both the UN Charter and the Council of Europe, we must not forget that, 22 years ago, Serbia was admitted to the Council of Europe in its borders as a democratic state. We are a country that firmly stands by the principles of international law and we advocate democratic principles, rather than ethnocratic and ethnonationalistic principles," Djuric said.