Norwegian DefMin on Kosovo: It is important to ease the tension

The two ministers exchanged views on the current situation in Kosovo which, the Norwegian Minister said, shows how important it is to ease the tension and resume the political dialogue.

Vucevic said the two countries are closely tied by long-standing relations and friendship between their peoples and states, that they have successful cooperation in many fields, particularly in energy and economy, and that he we would like to see progress in defense cooperation.

He thanked his Norwegian counterpart for the opportunity for the Serbian side to express its view of all the events taking place, primarily in Kosovo and Metohija (the official name for what the Serbian authorities consider to be the country’s southern province), said the press release.

Vucevic said these are very difficult days for the Serbian people, that human lives have been lost and that Serbia “does not have a problem saying that it condemns the murder of the Albanian policeman,” but it cannot remain “dumb, deaf and blind to the persecution and killing of the Serb people in Kosovo and Metohija either.”

The Norwegian Minster said his country also condemns the attacks on the police in Kosovo and Metohija and extended his condolences to the families of all the people killed in the conflict.

“This tragic incident shows how important it is to ease the tension and how important it is to resume the political dialogue, in order to avoid further escalation of the conflict,” Minister Gram said.

He said the Tuesday talks were very productive, and stressed that relations between Norway and Serbia were good and the ties between the two countries strong. The Minister noted that the topics discussed were related to security challenges in Europe, the war in Ukraine, as well as the challenges in the Western Balkans, adding that the meeting was marked by a constructive exchange of opinions.

Serbia is a candidate for EU membership, he said, which Norway strongly supports.

“We consider Serbia a long-term partner with which we have long-standing and positive ties, and we also share strong historic ties, considering that several thousand victims from this region were buried in Norway after the Second World War,” the press release quoted the Norwegian Defense Minister as saying.

Vucevic said Serbia would like peace to be established in Ukraine and the war to stop, because that would be a salvation for the Serbian and European economies, but peace based on the principles of public international law, “because Serbia firmly believes in compliance with public international law, i.e. in the existence of the value system in which legal norms are conformed to.”

Minister Vucevic expressed readiness to continue the cooperation with the Norwegian Ministry of Defense in all matters proposed by the Norwegian side, said the press release.

Minister Gram expressed his satisfaction with the projects that have been finalized and the activities that have been initiated, primarily in the field of military medicine, but also in the field of bilateral cooperation with the Serbian Armed Forces.