FM: Serbia supports fight against terrorism

FM: Serbia supports fight against terrorism

According to him, Serbia is "ready to join this battle" since it is being directly faced with this problem in its own territory as well.

“In the Raska District, southwestern Serbia, and in Kosovo and Metohija, there are radical Islamic preachers, who spread religion in an extreme way and recruit young people for the so-called religious wars,” Dacic said.

Dacic said that the number of mercenaries from Serbia, mostly from the Raska District and Kosovo and Metohija, is small compared to a total number of foreign fighters in extremist armed groups, said a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“There are more than 100 such people in Serbia, and this number is not insignificant bearing in mind the possible consequences of their return after being trained by foreign religious fanatics,” Dacic said.

Serbia has co-sponsored UN Security Council Resolution 2178 very quickly and early in October adopted amendments that envisage punishments for the citizens of the Republic of Serbia who participate or organize participation in the armed conflicts abroad.

"We have started the processes against several citizens of the Republic of Serbia suspected of taking part in the conflict in Syria as members of ISIL. We have increased border control and monitoring of returnees. We are active participants of international and regional meetings, in exchanging information about fighters being recruited in this area and in preventing the spread of ISIL ideology," Dacic said.

Dacic pointed out in Brussels that Serbia had also established a system for combating money laundering and terrorism funding.

"Serbia is responsible, consistent and on time in completing all of its international obligations related to UN Security Council resolutions that impose embargoes on arms export, including the bans that refer to government officials, which covers terrorist organizations and individuals connected to them," he stressed.

Dacic said he wished to reiterate Serbia's willingness to improve cooperation and coordination with all the countries of the Western Balkans and within the anti-ISIL coalition when it comes to battling terrorism threats.

He thanked the U.S. for organizing that ministerial meeting in Brussels in order to facilitate political consultations and agreements on future activities of the coalition, because "the battle against terrorism, and especially an organization like ISIL, which has no principles or boundaries, will be difficult and everyone understands that a military victory will not be enough," according to the statement from the Serbian Foreign Ministry.

"Serious damage"

The U.S.-led coalition has inflicted serious damage on Islamic State, carrying out around 1,000 air strikes so far in Iraq and Syria, but the fight against the militants could last years, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday, Reuters reported.

"Our commitment will be measured most likely in years but our efforts are already having a significant impact," Kerry said at the start of a first meeting of ministers "from a coalition of more than 60 countries that Washington has assembled to destroy Islamic State," Reuters said, noting it was "also known as Daesh."

"The roughly 1,000 coalition air missions we have flown have reduced Daesh's leadership and inflicted damage on its logistical and operational capabilities," Kerry said.

The U.S.-chaired meeting was held at NATO headquarters in Brussels, but Kerry stressed "it was not a NATO event."