Minister of Foreign Affairs Vuk Jeremic said today in Limassol after the talks with his Cypriot counterpart Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis that Cyprus will not change its firm position not to recognise the unilaterally proclaimed independence of Kosovo.

Jeremic told Fonet news agency that Cyprus is a full member of the EU which does not refrain from using all the rights which that implies.

Cyprus’ positions are principled and quite resistant to pressure, and this is extremely important for Serbia, particularly in our path towards the EU, and also because of close cooperation with all the countries that have not recognised Kosovo’s independence and are EU members, the Minister underlined.

He reiterated that Serbia will do everything to avoid placing new conditions on Serbia in the process of European integration which would not be acceptable to any democratic and sovereign state.

Speaking at the 7th session of the Forum for the Future of Democracy organised by the European Council in Limassol Jeremic stated that over the past ten years Serbia made substantial progress in the development of the democratic society.

Human rights are strictly respected in our country, especially the rights of national minorities, he said.

Regarding some other issues, first of all national minorities councils, Serbia even surpassed the EU standards, the Minister highlighted.

Our contry is extremely dedicated to strenghthening democratic institutions and everything else democracy implies, that being the only way to achieve future stability in the region we live in, he concluded.