Djuric: Support on Kosovo-Metohija issue very important for Serbia

PANAMA CITY - Serbian FM Marko Djuric on Tuesday said having a base of Latin American countries supporting Serbia on the matter of territorial integrity and sovereignty in Kosovo-Metohija was important for Belgrade.

Speaking to reporters in Panama City, where he is attending the 31st regular meeting of the Association of Caribbean States and the 56th meeting of the Assembly of the Organisation of American States, Djuric said the matter required work.

"We should not think it is enough to take things for granted and expect that we will always be able to count on their support if we do not communicate and cooperate with those countries. No - only if we continue to work and connect through interests, politically and in every other way will we be able to keep counting on the support base we have here," Djuric said.

Speaking about the participation of a Serbian delegation in the OAS summit, he said that, after several meetings with Latin American FMs, his impression was that, in general, the atmosphere at the conference was far better, more friendly and more peaceful compared to some European and regional gatherings.

"I think that is something that should make us all worried, in a way - how come that, at meetings at European level or at the level of our region, the atmosphere is more grave and less oriented to the future than it is here?" Djuric said.

He added that, at the same time, it was great for Serbia to be represented at the summit and identified as one of the countries that wanted to be a bridge of cooperation between Europe and central Latin America.

Djuric noted that Serbia's participation in the summit was not a one-off as Serbian delegations had attended the summit for years, and added that this was his third participation in the event as Serbian FM after he had also attended it as Serbia's ambassador to the US.

He said that, on the third day of the summit, he had had very useful discussions with a series of ministers from the Latin American region, as well as a meeting with the OAS secretary-general.