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President Anastasiades said Serbia should consider Cyprus a reliable partner within the EU as Belgrade aims for membership and underlined that the future of Serbia must be in Europe.
"I had the opportunity to reiterate to President Vukic our readiness to share with Serbia the expertise we have gained through our status as an EU Member State in terms of alignment with the European acquis...as a result of our 14-year presence in Europe, we have acquired the necessary knowledge," said Anastasiades in Belgrade.
"Serbia can always rely on Cyprus's commitment to act as a credible partner within the Union"
"I would like to emphasize that Serbia can always rely on Cyprus's commitment to act as a credible partner within the Union and as a friendly country that honestly believes that Serbia's future can only be, and must be, a European one," he added.
Anastasiades made clear that the Republic of Cyprus does not recognize the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo and expressed Nicosia’s support to respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Serbia.
He announced that Cyprus will host the 2nd Cyprus-Serbia Intergovernmental Conference before the end of the year and will organize a business forum, aiming at enhancing cooperation in the fields of economy, commerce, tourism and other areas.
Aleksandar Vučić said Serbia appreciates the support of Cyprus over issues that concern Belgrade, adding that both the Cypriot people and President Anastasiades have confirmed this on several occasions.
He added that during his talks with the President of Cyprus, they discussed various problems the two countries are facing and noted the support of President Anastasiades towards Serbia’s EU prospects.
Vučić thanked Nicosia for its stance over Kosovo, noting that Cyprus is among those EU member states that respect Serbia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Earlier, Anastasiades was decorated by his Serbian counterpart with the Highest Decoration of the Republic of Serbia, while Vučić was decorated by Anastasiades with the Grand Collar of the Order of Makarios III.
