"Stability in Balkans requires common Serbia-US interest"

"Stability in Balkans requires common Serbia-US interest"

For the sake of stability in the region, the US should seek a minimum common of interests with our country, Dacic told RTS.

According to him, the goal of Thursday's meeting of US National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster with ministers of foreign affairs of the countries of the Western Balkans was to show that the United States wants stability and prosperity of everyone in the region.

"I insisted that there is no stability in the region unless the United States finds a common interest with the biggest country and the biggest people in the Balkans, Serbia and the Serbian people, and in that sense we should seek a minimum of common interests in order to contribute stability to the whole region," Dacic said.

He added that during the meeting in Washington, there was no time for more serious talks, and that everyone had given their opinion on that occasion.

Speaking about the recently published report of the US think-tank Atlantic Council, proposing a new US strategy for the Balkans, Dacic stressed that in a formal sense this was not a document of the US administration but of a non-governmental organization, which "could, but doesn't necessarily" have some influence.

When it comes to any possible demands for changing the format of the Belgrade-Pristina negotiations, Dacic said that Serbia did not transfer the negotiation process to the EU - instead, this was a proposal of the EU.

"At the time of (Serbian President Boris) Tadic's administration, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution to that effect and this format cannot be changed just like that," Dacic said.

He added that no one has formally submitted a proposal for changing the format, and assessed that there was major disagreement between the EU and the US on this issue.

"Let's not be telling fairy tales, the United States has always been somehow behind the scenes, present during this dialogue," the head of Serbia's diplomacy concluded.