Minister of Foreign Affairs Vuk Jeremic today stated that African states that did not recognise the unilaterally proclaimed independence of Kosovo-Metohija are still under great pressure to change their stance.

In a statement to Tanjug news agency, following bilateral meetings on the fringes of the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Jeremic stressed that a combination of pressure and blackmail forced several African states to alter their position, although for a long time they had held that attempts to break away a portion of a territory of another sovereign state cannot be made legitimate.

The Minister noted that a small number of countries were pressured into changing their stance towards the issue of unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo-Metohija and that a much greater majority of African states do not recognise the unilaterally proclaimed independence of the southern Serbian province.

With the modest means and resource at its disposal, Serbia is politically and diplomatically engaged with African Union states and other countries in the world to keep the number of these states relatively low, Jeremic observed.

This is why it is necessary to maintain cooperation with states which endorse Belgrade’s policy and keep informing them about the results of talks between Belgrade and Pristina, events in the field and the progress of investigation into human organ trafficking in the province.

The Minister underlined that another important topic of today’s meetings with top diplomatic representatives from African countries was economic cooperation for which new possibilities are being opened in the wake of the recently held ministerial meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement.

In a time when the world is in a crisis and everyone is looking for new markets, political relations with African countries can be very useful for companies in Serbia, Jeremic noted, adding that during the year 1,000 tractors will be exported from Serbia to Ethiopia.

The Minister observed the importance of finding new markets for Serbian products and locating new profitable projects, bearing in mind that the global crisis is forcing everyone to turn their backs on traditional sources of production and financing.

Jeremic also met with over 15 counterparts from African states, as well as representatives from states attending the Summit as observers.

Of the 54 members of the African Union with which Serbia has established diplomatic relations, 16 have recognised Kosovo’s independence, while 38 did not.

This year’s African Union Summit, entitled “Boosting Intra-African Trade”, is attended by top representatives from a number of European states.