He expressed his satisfaction that they are meeting at the time of the UN General Assembly in New York, where Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic is also scheduled to speak. "In addition to the dozens of meetings that the President of Serbia is to have with numerous world political leaders, heads of leading international political and financial organisations, this will also be an extraordinary opportunity to make the views of our country be heard again in such an important place and to underline our principled commitment to international law and, the most important issues for us, preserving the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the state", said Dr Orlic.

As he pointed out, respecting international law is the cornerstone of the UN and Serbia abides by this principle in practice, both in relation to our country and in relation to all countries in the world. "The question is who else can say that they are doing it as principled as Serbia. In this regard, the message of the President of Serbia is clear that a seat in the United Nations for so-called "Kosovo" is out of the question. In this way, we defend our state and national interest, as well as international law and the basic principles on which the United Nations rests. Jeopardizing these foundations would also mean jeopardizing the UN organization itself," said the National Assembly Speaker.

He underlined that official Belgrade invests enormous efforts in dialogue with Pristina and that Serbia always insists on finding a solution that preserves peace. "The fight is difficult because we are faced with Pristina’s irrational approach which not only flagrantly violates all the existing agreements, ignores and tramples on its obligations, but also, on a daily basis, makes moves that lead to escalation. That is why cooperation with the UN Office in Belgrade, as the main channel of communication with UNMIK, is extremely important", said Dr Orlic adding that, in this regard, the timely reaction of the UN representatives in Kosovo-Metohija is important when we are faced with attempts to jeopardise the peace, stability and physical security of Serbs in Kosovo-Metohija.

He pointed out that Serbia, with President Aleksandar Vucic at the helm, stands for the clear and consistent implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and that it is of the greatest importance that it be implemented in an undiminished scope and unchanged mandate.

The Director of the UN Office in Belgrade Mari Yamashita said that Serbia is an important member of the United Nations, adding that mutual cooperation and relations are at an extraordinary level. She announced the UN Secretary-General’s new report on the work of UNMIK, which will be a "factual representation of the situation in Kosovo-Metohija". "Serbia's approach to resolving issues concerning Kosovo, which focuses on dialogue under the auspices of the EU, is understandable and logical, and the UN Office in Belgrade strives to be a constructive partner in the efforts to find a solution to this difficult issue", said Mari Yamashita.

She was very pleased with the National Assembly holding of a special session on Kosovo-Metohija and the fact that the representatives of the opposition had the opportunity to speak and present their views and demands. "It was parliament in action. Congratulations", said Yamashita.

Dr Orlic stressed that the adoption of the Report on the process of negotiation with the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government in Pristina unambiguously demonstrated that the National Assembly and the overwhelming majority of citizens support what Serbia, led by President Vucic, is doing in defence of dialogue, state interests, territorial integrity and sovereignty. "And the world fully understands our messages, principles and the position we defend. Proof of this is the fact that more than 20 UN member states have so far withdrawn their recognition of so-called "Kosovo’s" independence and Serbia's position on that matter remains firm and unequivocal - recognition of the independence of Kosovo-Metohija is out of the question, we are not giving up the fight for peace and dialogue", said the National Assembly Speaker.