The Secretary General of the Farnesina meets with Serbia’s State Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Today, the Secretary General of the Farnesina, Ambassador Ettore Francesco Sequi, met with the State Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia, Nemanja Starović. The meeting focused on the two Countries' bilateral relations, Belgrade's European Union accession prospects, the war in Ukraine, and the situation in the Western Balkans.

The meeting reaffirmed the centrality of the cooperation between Rome and Belgrade at regional and bilateral level. Italy firmly supports Serbia's aspirations to join the European Union and hopes there can be an acceleration in the European integration of the Western Balkans, which is made all the more urgent by Russia's brutal aggression against Ukraine. Secretary General Sequi reaffirmed Italy's firm condemnation of Moscow's actions. Ambassador Sequi expressed his appreciation for the stand taken by Serbia against the Russian invasion at the United Nations and in multilateral fora. He also expressed his hope that Belgrade progressively also align its position with respect to the sanctions adopted by the European Union against Russia.
The talks devoted ample time to an in-depth analysis of the situation in the Western Balkans. In this respect, the Secretary General reaffirmed Italy's priority to stabilize the region, which should be pursued through enhanced reconciliation efforts, the final settlement of issues that remain open, and bolstering the regional integration process.