Slovak President Ivan Gašparovič received Vuk Jeremić, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia. At their meeting, Gašparovič noted that the Slovak-Serbian relations were more than friendly. “Slovakia is also interested in joint investments where our cooperation could be even more intensive,” the President said.

“Slovakia will continue to support Serbia in its integration efforts, because we are convinced that you do belong to the European Union,” Gašparovič emphasised.

Vuk Jeremić informed the Slovak President of Serbia’s effort to join the European Union and thanked Slovakia for helping his country on the path to the European Community.“Joining the EU is our most important foreign policy priority,” said Serbian Foreign Minister.

As regards the country’s possible membership of NATO, Jeremić said that “Serbia is convinced it wants to remain a neutral country, therefore it will not apply for NATO membership.”

Jeremić also voiced his belief that Serbia’s neutrality would not put the stability of the Western Balkans in peril, just as Sweden’s neutrality did not jeopardize the security of Scandinavia.

At the meeting with Ivan Gašparovič, Vuk Jeremić reiterated gratitude for the Slovak position to Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence. “The Kosovo issue should be handled through dialogue and not unilaterally,” Vuk Jeremić emphasised. He also touched upon the issue of the Slovak minority living in Vojvodina, Serbia, describing it as an “absolutely loyal minority with a positive attitude towards their state.”