Serbia considers Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan a “true friend” regardless of their “differing stance on Kosovo’s independence,” in accordance with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.
Serbia has a “very good” relationship with Türkiye and “we will keep on working together in all different fields to make it even better,” Vucic instructed Anadolu on Thursday on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Vucic mentioned he needs nearer cooperation with Ankara on a “military-technical level,” however there are some obstacles on this regard, significantly associated to Kosovo.
“When we overcome that, I’m certain we have a lot to do together in this field,” he mentioned.
“We are always ready for discussions to see how we can overcome these difficulties, and what can be his (Erdoğan’s) contributions,” he added.
When requested to elaborate on the obstacles in Serbia’s ties with Türkiye, Vucic mentioned: “Well, you cannot say we are going to sell drones to both Serbia and Kosovo. That is unacceptable to us.”
Apart from the Bayraktar drones, Serbia can also be serious about shopping for a spread of army gear from Türkiye, he confused.
‘I DON’T EXPECT WAR WITH KOSOVO’
On current tensions between Serbia and Kosovo, Vucic mentioned he stays looking forward to stability and peace within the area.
“I don’t expect war (with Kosovo) and I hope that we will be able to overcome all difficulties,” he mentioned.
Many completely different views have been shared on the problem right here at Davos, however “we have a question to which no one has actually given a response,” he mentioned.
“Why is it that the UN charter and resolutions are important and to be obeyed when discussing issues of the other countries, but when it comes to Serbia’s territorial integrity, it doesn’t work like that?” he mentioned.
“But anyhow we will keep doing our best and invest our time and effort to ensure stability and peace,” he added.
Kosovo broke away from Serbia in 1999 and declared independence in 2008.
It aspires to EU membership and goals to realize a visa-free regime for the EU zone.
Most UN member states-including the U.S., UK, France, Germany, and Türkiye-recognize Kosovo as a separate autonomous nation.
Serbia, nonetheless, continues to see its former province as its territory, whereas Russia and China-both everlasting members of the UN Security Council-are among the many nations which have but to acknowledge Kosovo’s independence.
