Djuric receives Varhelyi

BELGRADE - Serbian FM Marko Djuric received EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi on Tuesday, noting that full EU membership was a strategic commitment and a priority of Serbia's foreign policy.

Djuric said the new Serbian government would work towards that objective with renewed vigour and noted that Serbia had opened 22 of 35 chapters in its EU accession talks since 2014, provisionally closing two, and that it hoped to open at least one cluster in the period to come.

"Serbia is committed to cooperation with the EU in the field of foreign and security policy, to an extent that would not jeopardise vital national, political and economic interests of our country," Djuric said.

He noted Belgrade's commitment to solve problems in Kosovo-Metohija through dialogue and also warned of the increasingly difficult position of Serbs in the province.

"Belgrade's readiness for dialogue and implementation of commitments undertaken is unquestionable and unequivocal, while, on the other hand, there is evidently no such readiness in Pristina, as is best reflected in the case of the Community of Serb Municipalities," Djuric said.

According to a statement released by the MFA, Djuric and Varhelyi also exchanged views on migration trends and the challenges they posed to the EU and countries around it.