Serbian parliamentary delegation attends NATO PA committee meeting in Palermo

PALERMO - The head of Serbia's standing parliamentary delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Zoran Dragisic and delegation member Natasa Jovanovic attended on Monday in Palermo a joint meeting of the NATO PA Political Committee, the Committee on Democracy and Security and the Mediterranean and Middle East Special Group.

"During the meeting with members of the Spanish delegation – Vice President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Fernando Gutierrez and Chairman of the Committee on Democracy and Security Javier Maroto, the head of the Serbian delegation, Prof Dr Zoran Dragisic, thanked Spain for its continued and strong support for our country, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as the contribution of Spanish soldiers as part of KFOR in Kosovo-Metohija," an official statement said.

"Delegation member Natasa Jovanovic expressed her satisfaction with the exceptional cooperation with her colleagues from Spain, who are representatives of the Spanish People's Party, with whom the Serbian Progressive Party in the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, as well as within the EPP Group, has excellent cooperation. She stressed that Spain is one of Serbia's greatest friends, which strongly supports our country's European path, and thanked them for respecting international law as regards Kosovo-Metohija.

The members of the Serbian delegation informed their Spanish colleagues of the difficult situation of Serbs in Kosovo-Metohija, who are under constant terror from Albin Kurti, whose policies are the main source of instability in the Western Balkans. They emphasised that fragile peace in the southern Serbian province is preserved solely thanks to the responsible policies of the President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic," the statement said.

Gutierrez and Maroto said Serbia would always have a sincere and great friend in Spain and expressed concern over the position of Serbs in Kosovo-Metohija.

They said that, as an EU member state that did not recognise the unilaterally declared independence of the so-called Kosovo, Spain would continue to support Serbia on its EU path while respecting the integrity of the Republic of Serbia.

Dragisic invited Gutierrez to visit Serbia, the statement said.