FM: Terrorism makes Kosovo "special challenge"

FM: Terrorism makes Kosovo "special challenge"

Serbia is firmly committed to the response to contemporary security challenges, including fight against "terrorism and all modes of extremism and radicalism, which constitutes one of our priority goals," Dacic said during a meeting of the UN Security Council committee on fight against terrorism and prevention of inflow of foreign fighters in Madrid.

Serbia is aware that the complexity of the phenomenon of terrorism, extremism and any mode of radicalism calls for coordinated action on the international level and handling all its aspects in view of achieving a comprehensive response, the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs quoted Dacic in a statement.

Dacic "underscored that Serbia is faced with a specific surrounding which is marked by strong centers through which the aggressive ideology of Islamic State is being affirmed, including recruitment and deployment of foreign terrorist fighters at crisis spots."

"The territory of the Kosovo and Metohija province constitutes a special challenge and the number of foreign terrorist fighters is exceptionally prominent there," Dacic has been quoted as saying.

Serbia, as the current OSCE chair, put a special emphasis on the implementation of the Declaration on the OSCE role in the fight against foreign terrorist fighters in the context of implementation of UN Security Council Resolutions 2170 and 2178, he said, adding:

"Serbia recently organised the OSCE Conference in Vienna concerning the fight against incitement and recruitment of foreign terrorist fighters, and it will be especially honoured by the chance to be the host of the UN Security Council Committee on Fight against Terrorism once more."

Dacic noted that the Serbian government has implemented numerous measures on the political, normative, institutional and operative plane in order to reinforce its capacities for prevention of inflow of foreign terrorist fighters and contribute to the fight while at the same time observing its obligations in the EU accession process.

"Intensified measures on the operative level are being implemented which aim to raise security levels at external borders, aggravate entry and passage through Serbia for foreign terrorist fighters, prevent trips to conflict areas and create conditions for establishment of databases with the aim of preventing movement and more efficient surveillance," Dacic according to the MFA statement.