Prague, Sept 15 (CTK) – It is unacceptable that all refugees be returned to Serbia, while others continue coming there, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said in Prague today, adding that Serbia does not want to step up tension, nor does it want to become the only victim of the current situation.
Dacic reacted to Budapest’s decision to close its border with Serbia today in order to soften the consequences of the migration crisis for Hungary.
Dacic said it is not in Belgrade’s interest to foment a further aggravation of the situation and it will continue negotiating about a joint solution.
During the crisis, as many as 140,000 migrants have crossed the Serbian territory, and only 550 asked for asylum in Serbia, Dacic said.
He said he can see no reason for his country to be the only victim of the situation.
The people of Serbia have shown a strongly accommodating approach, Dacic said.
He said the crisis, which has been the worst in Europe in the past decades, is largely due to the fact that the EU lacks a single asylum policy system.
Dacic and his Czech counterpart Lubomir Zaoralek also discussed bilateral relations today. They highly appreciated the recent meeting of the Czech and Serbian prime ministers, Bohuslav Sobotka and Aleksandar Vucic, respectively, with entrepreneurs in Novi Sad, Serbia.
The bilateral trade turnover of more than 600 million euros is good, but it could be much better, mainly in the areas of energy, transport and infrastructure, Dacic said.
The Czech exports to Serbia have doubled in the past five years. In 2014, they reached 398 million euros.
Zaoralek told Dacic today that Prague is ready to share its experience from the EU accession talks with Serbia.
“We will try to have the opening of [accession talks] chapters accelerated,” Zaoralek said, adding that Prague considers it its task to help in consolidating the Balkans.
Serbia officially launched the EU accession talks in January 2014, but none of the particular chapters has been opened as yet. The talks have been complicated by the question of Kosovo, former south Serbian province whose independence, unilaterally declared in 2008, has been recognised by most U.N. members including the Czech Republic.
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