Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikola Selaković, met today in Athens with the head of Greek diplomacy, Nikos Dendias, whom he thanked for the principled and clear support of that country for preserving the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia on the issue of Kosovo and Metohija, as well as for supporting our European integration.

After the meeting, Minister Selaković said that Greece supports finding a solution to the Kosovo-Metohija problem through a dialogue on the normalization of relations that Belgrade and Pristina are conducting under the auspices of the EU.

"Also, I informed my Greek colleague about the latest events in Kosovo and Metohija and everything that happened during September and October", said the head of Serbian diplomacy.

Minister Selaković emphasized the importance of the strategic partnership between Serbia and Greece, which was made official when it was signed in 2019 during the visit of President Aleksandar Vučić to Athens and the holding of the High Council for Cooperation between Serbia and Greece.

"We are convinced that in the next period, when the epidemiological conditions are met, we will continue with this good practice and organize the fourth High Council for Cooperation in Belgrade", said Minister Selaković.

The head of Serbian diplomacy said that there are many areas in which we can cooperate and expressed confidence that in the coming period, and especially after the next High Council for Cooperation, cooperation between Serbia and Greece will further deepen and develop.

Minister Selaković thanked his Greek colleague for the warm welcome, honest and open talks, as well as for the exchange of opinions on topics that are important for the entire region and for the attention that the Greek minister shows towards the region of the Western Balkans.

The head of Serbian diplomacy said that at the meeting he presented in a concise and clear way what Serbia's foreign policy is, not only in the fight for our national interests and our European aspirations, but in the fight to protect peace and stability in this part of Europe, which is a condition for economic development and social progress.

"We discussed several important things for Serbia and Greece, but also the entire region, the need to deepen and strengthen economic cooperation, the fact that we are looking forward, not only to our own, but also to the economic successes of Greece, which is successfully emerging from the economic crisis, and which is again in a position to return to the Serbian market through its investments and be even more present", the head of Serbian diplomacy noted.

Minister Selaković also expressed satisfaction with the fact that during the mandate of Minister Dendias, the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs will take over the chairmanship of the South-East European Cooperation Process, and stated that events are planned for this month which he would personally attend.

According to him, the relations between Greece and Serbia are not just relations between the two countries, and we have had a lot of things in common throughout history.

"As my colleague said – and I thank him for that – we have always been on the same side of history, we have fought for the same value system, we have fought to preserve the sovereign right of our peoples to decide on their own future. I am convinced that we will actively maintain this good tradition in the future as well", said Minister Selaković.

He conveyed that an agreement was reached at the meeting that trade must be increased, and stated that it was slightly higher than 395 million euros in the first eight months of this year and that, according to the current trend, it would exceed the last Covid pandemic year.

"That exchange must be at a much higher level. Hence the appeal to our business communities to be encouraged by us. They have our support to continue cooperation", said Minister Selaković.

The head of Serbian diplomacy emphasized that the Greek people can always count on Serbia's readiness to help in emergency situations, such as this summer, when friendly Greece was significantly more affected than others in the region by serious natural disasters.

"We are honored to have had the opportunity, through our Ministry of Interior, through the presence of Serbian firefighters, to help the fraternal Greek people in mitigating the fires and repairing their consequences", said Minister Selaković.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece, Nikos Dendias, said that Greece would continue to support Serbia's European path, which he said belonged to the European family, and that Athens would support the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina under the auspices of Brussels, and called on all parties to take a constructive approach in the subsequent rounds of talks.

Dendias thanked President Aleksandar Vučić, the Government of Serbia and the Serbian people for their help in extinguishing this summer's fires in Greece.

"This year we are celebrating 200 years of the new Greek statehood. Together with Serbia, we have always been on the same side of history. Even today we are with the Serbian people so that you would be an inseparable part of the European family, because we believe that you belong there", said Dendias.

According to him, the economic relations of our countries are at a high level, and in two weeks, in order to see the potential for the development of that cooperation, the assistant minister for economic diplomacy will visit Belgrade.

Dendias said that he also talked with Minister Selaković about Kosovo and Metohija and called on all parties to approach the next meeting in Brussels constructively.