Dacic: Premeditated political provocation

BELGRADE - Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic has said that the incident which took place at the football match between Serbia and Albania in Belgrade on Tuesday was a premeditated political provocation, and added that Serbia bears no responsibility for match abandonment.

"This has never happened at any football match and it was a premeditated act. In my opinion, the central issue is how the EU and UEFA would react if someone from Serbia waved the flag of Greater Serbia in Tirana or Pristina, I believe it would already be put on the agenda of the UN Security Council. In this incident, it is particularly controversial that this was done by the brother of the Albanian prime minister, who is announced to visit Serbia soon (October 22). All this makes up a political framework for the entire event and this is a political provocation," Dacic said for Belgrade daily Blic.

He said that all day long EU diplomats insisted that Albanian fans should be allowed to the stadium although they did not have tickets, while the Serbian authorities wanted to keep them at the airport.

"Serbia bears no responsibility for match abandonment," Dacic said.

Photo Tanjug/D. Stankovic