UNITED NATIONS, September 27. /ITAR-TASS/. Serbia, which will take over the rotating presidency of the OSCE in 2015, will do its utmost for the sake of a peace settlement of the crisis in Ukraine, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic told the UN General Assembly Session on Friday.
“We are deeply shocked and alarmed by the events in Ukraine. We have been doing everything in our powers to identify a peace solution of the problem and eliminate differences in a peaceful way,” he said. During its OSCE presidency Serbia will by all means promote “reconciliation, cooperation and mutual respect in the region.”
“Our Slavic brothers have the right to live in peace and develop, as is enshrined in the principles concerning all countries and peoples, which are clearly stated in the UN Charter. Serbia respects the territorial integrity of Ukraine,” he said, adding that the same equally applied to every other UN member-state. Nikolic recalled that “some countries had denied that right to his country, Serbia, by recognizing the independence of part of its territory - Kosovo and Metojia.”
The head of state pointed out that “a stable political settlement of the issue of Kosovo and Metojia was Belgrade’s top national priority.”
“From Serbia’s point of view the sole fair and honest solution would be to put an end to separatism and preserve the territorial integrity of all countries, including Serbia,” he said. In his opinion normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina would make a tangible contribution to the process of the country’s European integration.
“EU membership is a priority of Serbia’s foreign policy,” Nikolic said.