Dacic, Szijjarto: South Stream a joint interest

BELGRADE - The relations between Serbia and Hungary have reached the highest level - Hungary supports Serbia on its European path, and the two countries are also connected by joint interests such as the construction of the South Stream gas pipeline, the Serbian and Hungarian foreign ministers, Ivica Dacic and Peter Szijjarto, said on Friday.

We will implement that project because we are confident that it will significantly boost the security of gas supplies for Central Europe and, for this reason, we believe that the South Stream is a European interest, Szijjarto said.

The road to stability in the Western Balkans leads through European integrations, and Hungary resolutely supports the European path of Serbia and the region, Szijjarto said.

Hungary has three main interests in Central Europe that it wants to affirm - peace, secure energy supplies and improvement of economic ties, he explained.

To achieve this, infrastructure projects such as the railway line from Belgrade to Budapest need to be implemented, he said.

Hungary understands the problem related to the South Stream, but demands a renewal of the EU-Russia dialogue towards aligning the investment to EU regulations, he said.

"Hungary supports Serbia on the path towards the EU, and we need that support not in order to be cut some slack, but to keep anyone from setting traps that are not part of the negotiation process," Dacic said.

Speaking about improvement of cooperation in all areas, Dacic particularly noted the significance of the economy, adding that infrastructure projects such as Corridor 10, the railway line from Belgrade to Budapest and the South Stream project are all in the interest of both countries.

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