The Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, Prof. Dr Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic received the President of the Republic of Macedonia Djordje Ivanov, visiting Serbia until Thursday, 21 October 2010.

The NARS Speaker and the Macedonian President agreed that even though they do not share the position on Kosovo, Serbia and Macedonia share a future - European Union membership on which the two states would fully support one another. It was said that parliamentary cooperation could prove very helpful to this end. They also emphasised the importance of developing regional cooperation which can be assisted a great deal by good political, economic and friendly relations.

“The future unites us, and the past divides us. By building a common future, we will increase mutual trust”, said Ivanov.

Djukic-Dejanovic expressed pleasure that Serbs in Macedonia, about 36 000 of them, are loyal Macedonian citizens yet still represent the most important bridge of cooperation between the two countries.

The officials agreed that in the conflict between the Serbian and Macedonian Orthodox Church the churches themselves should establish relations so as to come up with a solution, adding that dialogue is the right solution for all disputes between the churches.

The NARS Speaker restated Serbia’s interest in speeding up the process of protecting cultural and historical monuments particularly in the case of Zebrnjak memorial, so that it might be restored by 2010, the hundredth anniversary of the battle of Kumanovo. The Macedonian President informed the Serbian Parliament Speaker that the competent Macedonian institutions have already initiated the procedures on redefining Zebrnjak and that the issue should be solved institutionally.