"Kosovo and Metohija one of the key topics during Lavrov's visit to Serbia"

"Kosovo and Metohija one of the key topics during Lavrov's visit to Serbia"

He also said that it would be one of the key topics during the visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Sergey Lavrov, to Belgrade on June 18.

Botsan-Kharchenko said that this would be Lavrov's first trip abroad after the coronavirus pandemic.

"It will be the first visit after the pandemic, which is a very important symbol. The first stay abroad here in Serbia," the Russian ambassador said.

He also said that, in his opinion, there has never been readiness and something that helps the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina.

"We have concerns, everyone understands, we witness a lot of activities, but no one sees, I'm talking about us, the contents of some proposals and readiness to finally establish a dialogue and to conduct it on the basis of the same approach towards Belgrade and Pristina. We have to take into account and respect the interests of Serbia within the framework of international law and Security Council's Resolution 1244 when we think about Kosovo", Botsan-Kharchenko said.

He agreed with the opinion of the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, that Resolution 1244 is a complex document that has both its good and its bad sides.

"The president is right, I remember the days when we prepared it. It was difficult, but it is the kind of compromise that was possible. Of course, a compromise is not possible for everyone to be completely satisfied. But certainly the resolution, in our opinion, provides the most important - the territorial integrity of Serbia, sovereignty, and the basis for establishing dialogue, on a sound basis without haste, imposing solutions from outside, without creating specific time frame, duration of dialogue", the Russian Ambassador concluded.