OSCE Chairperson, in Belgrade, welcomes Serbia’s steps towards reform, regional reconciliation

BELGRADE, 6 July 2011 – The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Ažubalis, met Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić today to discuss OSCE support for institutional reforms in the country, specifically in the areas of anti-corruption, election legislation and judicial reform.

Ažubalis stressed that the OSCE appreciates and supports the positive role Serbia has been playing to build co-operation and partnership in the region and beyond.

“I am particularly encouraged by the positive outcome of the latest meeting between Belgrade and Priština mediated by the EU. Concrete steps to improve the lives of ordinary people are to be applauded,” he said.

Ažubalis underlined that positive steps such as Serbian President Boris Tadić’s visits to Vukovar and Srebrenica last year, the Serbian Parliament’s resolution on Srebrenica and the country's close partnership and co-operation developed with Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and other countries contribute to a positive atmosphere and security in the region.

“Notably, the recent arrest and transfer to the ICTY of Ratko Mladić shows Serbia's serious commitment to the rule of law, reconciliation and justice,” said Ažubalis.

Tomorrow, the OSCE Chairperson will meet President Boris Tadić, Prime Minister Mirko Cvetković, Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Ivica Dačić, Minister of Kosovo and Metohija Goran Bogdanović and Minister for Human and Minority Rights Milan Marković.