Serbian President Vucic presented with a Gold Medal for Merits of the City of Athens

The Mayor of Athens Kostas Bakoyannis presented President Vucic with a Gold Medal for Merits of the City of Athens at a City Hall ceremony

Serbian President Vucic presented with a Gold Medal for Merits of the City of Athens

The Mayor of Athens Kostas Bakoyannis presented President Vucic with a Gold Medal for Merits of the City of Athens at a City Hall ceremony

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Foto: Tanjug/Predsedništvo Srbije

President Vucic said that the medal signifies a great honor for Serbia and for him personally, but also a tremendous obligation and an impetus to work on further development of the brotherly relations of the two countries and two peoples.

"Serbia and Greece will stand together for better or worse, and I take this medal as an additional obligation for Serbia and for ourselves, to do everything we can to further develop our economic, cultural and overall relations," concluded President Vucic.

"In World War I, if it had not been for Greece and the Greeks, the Serbian state would have disappeared. When Venizelos was offered territorial concessions to the detriment of Serbia, he uttered the famous sentence: 'Greece is too small to be so sordid'. That is why he is one of the heroes of Serbia as well, not just a hero of Greece", President Vucic concluded.

President Vucic stated that Serbs and Greeks suffered equally during World War II when they were fighting fascism, while most of the surrounding nations submitted to the Central Powers.

President Vucic further pointed out that Serbia will not forget 1999, when Greece was with the Serbian people and provided assistance and support to Serbian people.

He added that Greece is one of the five EU countries that did not recognize the independence of Kosovo and Metohija which Serbia is grateful for and that today, when Greece perceives any kind of threat, it is Serbia's duty to say that it will always safeguard, protect and advocate for the preservation of the territorial integrity of Greece, on land and at sea.

"Serbia and Greece will stand together for better or worse, and I take this medal as an additional obligation for Serbia and for ourselves, to do everything we can to further develop our economic, cultural and overall relations," concluded President Vucic.

Mayor Bakoyannis pointed out that the Gold Medal is an acknowledgement for the contribution to the great friendship connecting the Serbian and Greek people, but also a sign of respect for President Vucic's personality, as he is an experienced politician who has repeatedly shown courage and changed the future of his country.

The Mayor of Athens referred to the Athens-Belgrade Friendship and Cooperation Agreement, which has been in effect for more than 50 years.

"Belgrade is a capital that the Greeks especially love, not only because of its history, but also because of its contemporary contribution to civilisation", Mayor Bakoyannis underlined.