Djuric: Position of Kosovo-Metohija Serbs, advancement of relations discussed with Herzog

JERUSALEM - Serbian FM Marko Djuric, who is on an official visit to Israel, met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday to discuss the position of Serbs in Kosovo-Metohija and opportunities for further advancement of Serbia-Israel relations.

Speaking to reporters after meetings with Herzog and the head of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee Boaz Bismuth, Djuric said the discussion with Herzog had addressed opportunities for further advancement of relations, especially in the Serbia-Israel-US triangle.

"We spoke a lot also about what we can do now that we have raised the relations with Israel to the level of strategic partnership after yesterday's meetings and raised trust to a new level, what we can do in that context in the Serbia-Israel-US triangle, because this country - Israel - has a strategic relationship with the US," Djuric noted.

He added that he believed Serbia and Israel could do much together and that Herzog had extended an invitation to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic to visit Israel.

Serbia and Israel maintain great mutual understanding and respect due to the fact the Israelis remember that Serbs rescued and protected Jews in WWII, Djuric added.

Asked how he had felt during a visit to the city of Beit Shemesh, which has recently been hit by an Iranian ballistic missile, Djuric said he had been tremendously shaken after a conversation with residents.

"Regardless of any political excuses, no one anywhere in the world should experience such a fate," he said.

"It (the visit to Beit Shemesh) was also my personal and human gesture of solidarity. We in Serbia know what war and suffering mean and how great and significant a value peace is, and that is why we fight for peace and safeguard peace," Djuric said.