FM in Baku: Peaceful resolution through dialogue

FM in Baku: Peaceful resolution through dialogue

BAKU -- Ivica Dačić, who is on a visit to Baku, has said that Serbia supports dialogue as a way to resolve all outstanding international issues.

The Serbian foreign minister told Azerbaijan's APA news agency that economic relations between the two countries "are not at a level where they could be," and that his visit was "an opportunity for further development."

Opportunities to increase economic cooperation are high in all areas, Dačić said and urged businesspeople from Azerbaijan to invest in Serbia, especially in energy and infrastructure.

Dačić reiterated that the priorities of the Serbian foreign policy are EU membership and continued cooperation with strategic partners "in east and west."

Asked about the crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh, an area of dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Dačić said that it is necessary to refrain from using force and invested all energy in the continuation of the negotiation process. "Serbia supports any dialogue that leads to a peaceful resolution of this issue," he said.

Dačić said that Serbia is committed to resolving all outstanding issues through negotiations and diplomatic means, noting that the country welcomed the ceasefire agreement in Ukraine, and expressing hope that this is the beginning of a peace process.

"Taking into account the important role of the OSCE in achieving this agreement, Serbia is prepared to, as the chair of the OSCE in 2015, invest every effort in keeping the peace and assisting in the negotiation process until a decision is made that is acceptable to all sides," Dačić said.