Serbian officials meet with NATO delegation

Serbian officials meet with NATO delegation

He reiterated Serbia's commitment to developing the partnership cooperation with the North Atlantic Alliance through available mechanisms and activities within the Partnership for Peace program, the foreign ministry said in a release.

Dacic underlined the importance of keeping the scale of KFOR's presence in Kosovo and Metohija unchanged, as it is a key guarantor of security in the province. He placed a special emphasis on NATO's security guarantees that the so-called Kosovo armed forces would have no access to northern Kosovo without KFOR's permission.

Serbia is military neutral and will not change this position, Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said in a conversation with the delegation of the NATO PA Committee on the Civil Dimension of Security on Wednesday.

The committee members "hailed Serbia for the efforts invested in preserving stability in the Western Balkans," Tanjug reported.

The Serbian prime minister also thanked KFOR for being a guarantor of Serbs' security in Kosovo and Metohija, the government said in a statement.

Vucic informed the delegation, led by NATO PA Vice President Lord Thomas Jopling, about the current situation and Serbia's foreign, domestic and security policy priorities.

Serbia stays committed to its foreign policy goal - fully fledged membership in the EU and economic and social reforms, the prime minister underlined.

Members of three committees of the Serbian Assembly and of Serbia's permanent delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (PA) met with a delegation of the NATO PA Committee on the Civil Dimension of Security in Belgrade on Wednesday.

Lord Thomas Jopling, vice president of the NATO PA and chairman of the Subcommittee on Democratic Governance of the Committee on Civil Dimension of Security of the NATO PA, commended Serbia's permanent delegation to NATO PA for playing an active role in the work of the organization.

"Serbia is a key player when it comes to regional stability. We respect the position taken by the Serbian people and its leadership in terms of membership of NATO as well as their willingness to be engaged in a constructive partnership," the Serbian assembly cited Jopling in a statement.