President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday received Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic during the latter's official visit to Turkey to discuss the bilateral ties and regional and international developments, primarily in the Balkans.
Within the scope of the visit, the third meeting of the Turkey-Serbia High-Level Cooperation Council will be held in the capital Ankara.
At the council meeting with the participation of the relevant ministers, Turkey-Serbia relations will be reviewed in all their aspects, and the steps that can be taken to deepen and develop bilateral cooperation will be discussed.
"Opinions will be exchanged on regional and international developments, primarily in the Balkans, on the basis of the understanding of maintaining peace and stability," a statement from Ankara also said Monday.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA) ahead of the visit, Serbia's Ankara Ambassador Zoran Markovic said that bilateral relations between Turkey and Serbia have reached their peak level in history and continue to improve with new challenges and opportunities.
Noting that a series of agreements covering areas such as culture, tourism, education and economy are expected to be signed during the visit, Markovic stated that they believe these agreements will positively increase regional and global synergies.
Bilateral relations between Turkey and Serbia have reached the best level in history, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said in August during his visit to the Balkan country.
Turkey is working with Serbia on passport-free travel for citizens of both countries, he also announced. During the visit, Turkey also became the first-ever country to open a diplomatic mission in the city of Novi Pazar.
Most recently, Turkey has expressed its willingness to take responsibility to de-escalate tensions in Bosnia-Herzegovina, underlining the importance of stability and peace in the Balkans.
Bosnia is currently in the midst of a political row between the Bosniaks and Serbs living in the country. Bosnia-Herzegovina has seen a separatist push since Milorad Dodik, the Serb member of the country’s tripartite presidency, blasted legal changes banning the denial of genocide and the glorification of war criminals. Dodik pushed for Republika Srpska's regional parliament to take separatist steps in the army, judiciary and tax systems if the changes are not reversed.
In a nonbinding motion paving the way for secession from Bosnia, Serb lawmakers last month voted to start pulling their autonomous Serb Republic out of Bosnia's armed forces, tax system and judiciary.
Bosnia was split into two autonomous regions – the Serb Republic and the Federation, which is dominated by Bosniaks and Croats – after its 1992-1995 war. The three institutions represent the key pillars of joint security, rule of law and the economic system.
Turkey has said the Serb lawmakers' vote was "wrong, dangerous" and could threaten regional stability. Predominantly Muslim Turkey has strong ties with Bosnia.
Erdoğan also said Tuesday that Turkey will continue to keep its respectable position in Bosnia and the region to overcome the crisis.
