Michael Roth

BELGRADE - Serbia will never accept Kosovo-Metohija's independence, and it meets the conditions for EU accession as long as a recognition of Kosovo is not required, Serbian presidential adviser Stanislava Pak said in a comment on a statement by German Foreign Office official Michael Roth, who said that, before Serbia's EU accession, everything must be clear regarding Kosovo.

The cabinet of Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic late on Tuesday reacted to statements made by German politician Michael Roth, a Belgrade daily writes.

BELGRADE - Commenting on a statement by Michael Roth, Minister of State for Europe at Germany's Foreign Office, that Germany supported Serbia if it was resolved to become a part of the EU rather than Russia, FM Ivica Dacic said he did not understand it.

"Serbia and Russia are traditional friends, but when did Serbia express an intent to be a part of Russia?" he asked.

Serbian National Assembly President Maja Gojkovic on Tuesday met with Michael Roth, Minister of State for Europe at Germany's Federal Foreign Office.

She "noted that Serbia remains committed to full EU membership," the Assembly said in a statement quoted by Tanjug.

German Foreign Ministry's minister of state for Europe has thanked Aleksandar Vucic for his commitment to maintaining political stability in the W. Balkans.

The Serbian government said this in a statement issued after Michael Roth's meeting with the Serbian prime minister in Belgrade on Tuesday.

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic has stressed that he does not understand a statement made by a senior official of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

As Turkish and EU leaders discuss a joint action plan agreement to deal with the migrant crisis, with the former asking the latter to share the burden, a German government official has underlined the need for Turkey to better integrate Syrian refugees, comparing the situation to Germany's experience dealing with "Gastarbeiter," or guest workers, in the post-war period.

"Serbia is managing the refugee crisis well," said the Serbian interior minister and the minister of state for Europe at the German Federal Foreign Office.

Nebojsa Stefanovic and Michael Roth met in Belgrade on Monday.

The Serbian minister without porfolio in charge of EU integration has met with the minister of state for Europe at the Federal Foreign Office of Germany.

The German official, Michael Roth, said that the German government backs Serbia's European path constructively and that it is its close partner.

German police sprayed tear gas on several hundred demonstrators throwing bottles and stones at busloads of asylum seekers arriving at an eastern German town in the early hours of Aug. 22 in scuffles which left several people hurt, media reported.