Macut: Serbia values UNMIK's role, more active engagement needed

BELGRADE - Serbian PM Djuro Macut met with UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix in Belgrade on Wednesday.

Macut said that "Serbia values the role that UNMIK, the UN mission in Kosovo-Metohija, has when it comes to the protection of the non-Albanian population in the southern Serbian province, and especially Serbs, but that there is still considerable room for its more active engagement in this area," the Serbian government said in a statement.

Macut stressed that Serbia was "committed to participating in peacekeeping troops around the world and continues the mission of the former Yugoslavia, established back in 1967 with the first engagement in the Sinai mission."

"Lacroix confirmed that the United Nations provides full and continuous support to the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and agreed with the Prime Minister that constructive dialogue is the only way towards sustainable stability," the statement said.

Lacroix extended his sincere condolences over the death of Serbian UNIFIL peacekeeper Milovan Jovanovic in Lebanon on June 4.

The UN under-Secretary-General for peace operations is responsible for strategic management through oversight and coordination of the activities of numerous UN missions worldwide, including UNMIK, the statement noted.