Participation in Croatia parade to be "anti-Serb" - FM

Participation in Croatia parade to be "anti-Serb" - FM

He told the N1 broadcaster that Serbia was criticized for sending soldiers to Moscow on May 9, when 70 years of the victory over fascism was celebrated - while Croatia is now organizing a parade to mark the anniversary of Operation Storm that claimed the lives of several thousand Serbs, while several hundred thousand others were expelled.

Croatia has invited armed forces of other countries to take part in the parade.

"The participation of their troops in the parade will sent a very negative message to Serbia. We will take that as an anti-Serb stand," the Serbian foreign minister said.

Asked whether "the dual diplomacy" of maintaining good relations with Russia and wanting to join the EU "has led to the situation where Britain is writing a resolution on Srebrenica without asking us to participate, while we don't know if Russia will veto it" - Dacic said that the country's policy was not the reason for this, "but the position we have been in for centuries, at a crossroads between the East and the West."

"As a small country we don't have the privilege to dictate international relations, but must instead find the best way to protect our national and state interests. We wish to join the EU because that is in our national and state interest, but on the other hand, in the political sense, in the strategic, partnership, economic sense, why would be renounce our partnership with Russia," he stressed.

Dacic also commented on the outcome of the recent referendum in Greece, saying that Serbia "fully understands the gravity of the situation that a friendly people are in," adding the decision was made by the Greeks and is their internal issue.

"We should deal with what affects us, and what affects us are the consequences. We hope there will be some deal after all, because failure to reach it will have detrimental consequences for all of Europe, not just Serbia," the foreign minister said, warning that "a rope should not be tightened in order to prevent it from snapping."

As for Serbia's OSCE presidency, Dacic said the country "did a large portion of work in the context of the difficult situation in Ukraine and numerous global crises, and received great praise from the UN Security Council, the EU, the OSCE Permanent Council, and both Russia and Ukraine."

Dacic announced he will travel to Ukraine on July 17 to discuss the further course of the peace process, and said one of the greatest gatherings "since the Non-Aligned Movement summit" will be held in Belgrade on December 4 and 5 - the OSCE ministerial summit that will bring together 57 member-states.