Kosovo was one of the issues that attracted attention during the visit of the Greek Foreign Minister, Giorgos Gerapetritis, to Belgrade, even though bilateral relations and the European perspective of the Western Balkans were at the center of the talks with the Serbian authorities.
In the joint conference with his Serbian counterpart, Marko Gjuric, the head of Greek diplomacy stated that Athens’ position on the status of Kosovo remains unchanged, reiterating Greece’s support for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue under the mediation of the EU as the way to normalize relations.
Gerapetritis also underlined that Greece strongly supports the European integration of Serbia and the countries of the Western Balkans, describing EU enlargement as a strategic investment for peace and stability in the region.
He assessed the progress of reforms in Serbia and focused on the need to strengthen economic, energy and infrastructural cooperation, with projects such as the Thessaloniki-Skopje-Belgrade railway corridor and gas interconnectors.
The visit continued with the meeting of the Greek minister with President Aleksandar Vucic. In a public reaction after the talks, the Serbian head of state thanked Greece for its continuous support to Serbia’s European path, but also singled out Athens’ position on respecting international law, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia.
“I reiterated my gratitude to Greece for its continuous support for Serbia’s European path and understanding of our country’s positions when it comes to the most important state and national issues. We highly appreciate Greece’s principled and stable stance towards respect for international law, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia”, stressed Vučić in a post on Instagram.
According to the Serbian president, the meeting once again confirmed the traditionally close relations between Belgrade and Athens and the will of both countries to deepen the strategic partnership in energy, infrastructure, trade and investments, in a period of new geopolitical challenges for the Balkans.
