FM to Serbians: Don't vacation in occupied part of Cyprus

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic on Thursday warned citizens not to "fall for" any offers by travel agencies regarding the "occupied part of Cyprus."

In a joint news conference in Belgrade with Cypriot colleague Nikos Christodoulides, Dacic warned citizens traveling to Cyprus that they must "respect the dignity and territorial integrity and sovereignty of that state."

The minister urged citizens "not to enter into any kind of arrangements with (travel) agencies who promise they will enable them to vacation in the occupied part of Cyprus" and added that the agencies doing this will face "sanctions."

Nikos Christodoulides is part of the delegation of Cypriot President Nikos Anastasiades who on Thursday met with President Aleksandar Vucic and Prime Minister Ana Brnbic.

Speaking during the joint press conference with Dacic, Christodoulides said his country would view the proclamation of Kosovo's independence as illegal for as long as a compromise solution was not found.

He also congratulated Serbia on its "significant progress" in European integration, adding that Cyprus wished to support and help that process.

Dacic said the position of Cyprus regarding the non-recognition of Kosovo's independence was very firm and that Serbia was grateful to the "brothers" from Cyprus for consistently voting against Kosovo's membership in international organizations.

"The matter here is the principle that nobody must be allowed to jeopardize the territorial integrity of UN members with unilateral acts," he said.