Meeting of the President of the Hellenic Parliament with the President of the Serbian Parliament

President of the Hellenic Parliament, Mr. Constantine Tassoulas, in the framework of his bilateral meetings with the Presidents of Parliament of the Council of Europe member states, participating in the European Conference in Athens, met with the President of the National Assembly of Serbia, Mr. Ivica Dacic.

Following the meeting, the two Presidents made the following statements:

Mr. Tassoulas: "We had today an interesting and fruitful meeting with the President of the Parliament of the friendly country of Serbia, with whom we discussed, in the frame of the Conference of Presidents of Parliament of the Council of Europe member states, on bilateral issues, but also on issues related to the cooperation of our countries in order to accelerate the case of the European course of the Western Balkans.

Our country is historically closely connected with Serbia. In fact, we said that we would soon activate the exchanges between the two Friendship Groups of our parliaments and it is most likely that by the end of the year our parliament will pay an official visit to Serbia, at the highest possible level.

At the beginning of the last century, when the Balkan Wars and the First World War created new situations in the Balkan Peninsula, Greece was asked by a great power of the time to violate and ignore a defense agreement it had concluded with Serbia.

The Greek Prime Minister had replied that Greece is a small country that cannot commit such a great dishonesty. Our relations have been tested in great difficulties, which is why Greece will continue to support a main national goal of Serbia, which is its European course, and I am sure, despite the problems that exist, that this goal, later or sooner, will be achieved ".

I. Dacic: "I would like to express my great satisfaction for the opportunity I was given to participate in this Conference, especially because it is organized by Greece, which is a sister country.

Serbia and Greece are two countries, whose people are very close to each other. Our friendship has been established through common history. There has always been solidarity between us and of course Orthodoxy connects us.

There are two sacred places in Greece. It is the monastery of Chilandari on Mount Athos and the island of Corfu where the “wet” or “blue” grave is located very close to the islet of Vidos where many thousands of Serbian soldiers, forced to leave their country, lost their lives. Tens of thousands of Serbian soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of Serbia have been buried in the Greek Sea. This forces us to strengthen our close relationships.

We are grateful to Greece for supporting the progress of Serbia and its accession to the European Union. We are grateful that Greece respects the territorial sovereignty of Serbia and did not recognize Kosovo.

The President, my good friend, and I will do everything possible to strengthen these good and close relations between the two parliaments. Besides Greece, Serbia has such a cooperation with Russia and China. We will work in this direction, that is, to strengthen the cooperation between the two countries and I expect him in Belgrade by the end of the year."