Serbian Foreign Minister addresses OSCE, calls for co-operation, dialogue to advance regional development and reconciliation

VIENNA, 4 July 2011 – Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić called for deepening multilateral co-operation to address common challenges and emphasized Serbia’s commitment to inclusive, consensus-based dialogue to address unresolved issues in the Balkans and other parts of the OSCE space in a speech to the OSCE Permanent Council today.

Speaking in his capacity as Chairperson of the Adriatic-Ionian Initiative, the Central European Initiative, and the Southeast European Co-operation Process, he emphasized the need to deepen multilateral co-operation to combat organized crime, protect human rights, including those of minorities, and enhance environmental security.

“I want to underline the fact that we consider the OSCE to be a strategic partner in the consolidation of regional peace, democracy and security,” said Jeremić, adding that a priority of Serbia’s concurrent chairmanships is the fight against organized crime.

“This is the common theme driving all our chairmanship activities. Serbia shall spare no effort to eliminate this threat to our security—its root causes, as well as its effects,” he said. “Ultimate success, however, cannot be achieved without a much stronger multilateral commitment, for organized crime is like a virus: it spreads to where it finds least resistance.”

Jeremić also underscored the importance of improved bilateral relations and reconciliation for South-Eastern Europe: “A new level of trust and understanding has been established, and key bilateral relationships have visibly improved. This has taken place in the midst of a renewed impetus to complete the process of full reconciliation in the Balkans.”

“The way forward will require painstaking work and compromise by all parties. Both traditional misconceptions and legitimate concerns will need to be addressed in fair and inclusive ways,” he added. “As in other parts of the OSCE space, this should apply in the present dialogue between Belgrade and Priština. We see the dialogue as a prelude to the achievement of a fair and balanced solution that everyone will be able to endorse. This would bring to an end one of the most noticeable sources of contention between the participating States.”