Twenty-third of February 2010. The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Miguel Ángel Moratinos, had a meeting and a working dinner today with his Serbian counterpart, Vuk Jeremic. The main subjects of the conversation were Kosovo and the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Following the start of the oral stage of the hearings regarding the legality of the Kosovo unilateral declaration of independence, which began on 1 December at the International Court of Justice, the Ministers exchanged their points of view and agreed on the need to respect international law as regards this issue.
Miguel Ángel Moratinos added that, as holder of the Rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Spain would wish to see "practical cooperation on the ground with the Kosovo authorities on affairs affecting the daily lives of their citizens", such as the police or customs. The Minister expressed the opinion that the north of Kosovo needs to recover its stability and that for this to happen it is essential that all the parties collaborate to create a multiethnic society based on tolerance and respect.
Minister Moratinos also took advantage of the occasion to enlist Serbia's support for the stabilisation of Bosnia and Herzegovina to enable it to achieve suitable progress in its European outlook.