Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said at a press conference with Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric in Belgrade that Israel has accepted US President Donald Trump's plans to achieve peace in Gaza, but Hamas refuses to stop the war, the TANYUG agency reported, quoted by BTA.
Saar said it now remains to be seen whether Hamas will accept Trump's offer, noting that Israel wants to see the return of the hostages, as well as Gaza being demilitarized and no longer posing a threat.
“Serbia is a strategic pillar in the Western Balkans and in Europe and strengthening cooperation is important“, Saar said, adding that work is underway on a free trade agreement between Serbia and Israel and that today they discussed strategic dialogue and a joint economic committee together with Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric.
Saar also said that Serbs and Jews are united by a common history of being victims of the Nazi regime and invited his compatriots to visit Serbia because "it is a safe country for Jews".
Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric said that Serbia welcomes and supports the peace initiative of US President Donald Trump and expects Hamas to release all hostages. Djuric stressed that relations between Serbia and Israel are based on centuries of close, friendly and fraternal relations between the Serbian and Jewish people, which are connected by suffering and shared values, but also by an unwavering faith in the future.
A memorandum on the training of diplomats and a Cooperation Program for the period 2025-2028 were signed between Serbia and Israel today in in the field of science, culture and sports, reported TANYUG.