Djuric: Shift of power taking place, Serbia analysing global developments

BELGRADE - Serbian FM Marko Djuric said on Thursday a global shift of power was taking place in the international arena and that Serbia was watching the situation closely, with its agencies analysing developments in a very serious manner.

"A new order is being created. That is no exaggeration - it is something that has begun to happen in practice. The old order has vanished, and is disappearing in front of our eyes. New rules will be established only after a new balance has been established. But we need to be aware that old rules do not apply anymore. We must be aware of that so that we do not pay the price," Djuric told Prva TV.

The only key principle Serbia needs to be governed by is the principle of Serbian state and national interests, he said.

"I am stressing this - national interests, too, not only state interests, because we also have Serbs living outside of our country, in the immediate region as well as in some countries such as Germany, Switzerland, and even the US - in those countries, there are around a million people who share the same roots with us. Therefore, we must preserve our identity, our culture and our state. That is our responsibility," Djuric said.

He said Serbia's foreign policy goals were clear and that the country wanted to bolster relations with all key stakeholders in the international community and adhere to the principle of Serbian interests being paramount.

Asked about Serbia-US relations, Djuric said he was very enthusiastic about development of those relations as he believed building good relations with the US over the long term was in Serbia's national and state interest, also due to a large Serbian diaspora in the US.

He said the relations with the US administration had seen significant progress in the past several years.

"Just look at Republika Srpska. The US position on Bosnia and Herzegovina has evolved in a direction that is more favourable for our people across the Drina. Sanctions against the Republika Srpska leadership and dozens of people associated with it have been lifted. A policy that was going towards unitarisation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has been changed and replaced by a policy of agreement among nations, which we, too, support," Djuric said.

Speaking about the situation in the Autonomous Province of Kosovo-Metohija, he said Washington had suspended strategic dialogue with Pristina and withheld hundreds of millions of dollars in development aid over pressure on Serbs in the province.

Djuric said the current US administration had responded with respect to Serbia's sincere wish to establish a different relationship with Washington.

"Are there problems? Have the sanctions on (the oil company) NIS impacted Serbia? They have. Are we pleased or enthusiastic about that? Of course not. But, at the same time, it is a fact that a request and a plea made by the (Serbian) president and us to keep delaying the sanctions month after month has been granted," Djuric noted.