Selaković: Kosovo and Cyprus present the same problem, only different in details

In an interview to the Cypriot newspaper “Kathimerini”, Selaković emphasised that, in protecting its territorial integrity and sovereignty, Serbia was also defending the principle and safeguarding the territorial integrity and sovereignty of many other countries, including Cyprus and some countries in its nearest vicinity.

“Serbia has very exceptional positions as regards its territorial integrity and sovereignty, as well as the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all UN Member States. These positions are based on international law, strong values and irrefutable arguments”, said Selaković, answering the question about the way that the problems of Cyprus and Kosovo affect policies on the Balkans and East Mediterranean. 

Minister Selaković emphasised that Serbia provided full and unconditional support to the efforts of Cyprus to resolve its most important national issue, preservation of territorial integrity and sovereignty. 

“We believe that sovereignty and territorial integrity of Cyprus are inviolable and that the overall solution of this territorial dispute must be found on the basis of relevant UN resolutions and agreements between the two sides”, stated Selaković.

Minister Selaković emphasised that Serbia was consistent in its commitment to the observance of the international law. He said that, as regards the position that there were privileged countries whose territorial integrity and sovereignty must be respected but also countries whose territorial integrity and sovereignty did not necessarily have to be respected, he always openly called such a position untenable, as it undermined the very foundations of the international law and the UN system. 

“Believe me when I say that many are not happy to hear that, and usually, since they cannot respond with arguments, they try to change the subject. And when someone tries to argue that the Kosovo problem and the Cyprus problem are not the same, they cannot find arguments to support this statement, as these are essentially the same situations, and differences are only in details”, said Selaković.

In his words, documents defining Serbia’s obligations on the path to the EU do not mention any “recognition” of the so-called “Kosovo” by Belgrade. 

“EU has not been able to submit such a request to us exactly because five EU countries, and almost 100 UN Member States, including Cyprus, do not recognise the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo”, said Selaković. 

Speaking of the dialogue between Belgrade and Priština, Minister Selaković emphasised that the objective of this dialogue is not “recognition”, but normalisation of relations, and stated that EU ultimately expects Belgrade and Priština to conclude a legally binding agreement, but that, at this time, no one could know what could be its contents. 

“As regards the dialogue between Belgrade and Priština, we have been consistently willing to be open to any initiatives and solutions which would make the lives of people in our southern province easier. Belgrade is still fully committed to the dialogue with temporary institutions of self-government in Priština, since this is the only way to solve outstanding issues and reach a mutually acceptable agreement. However, we are not discussing any ‘recognition’, nor have we ever done so”, stated Selaković. 

As stated, the problem is that Priština is blocking the normalisation process by not having implemented the agreement on the Community of Serb Municipalities for over nine years, constantly causing crises by provocations and unilateral moves, which has been tolerated by their Western backers, who, instead of punishing them, are practically encouraging them to destabilise the region.