Serbia to boost ties with Turkey: Vucic

Serbia wants to further develop friendly relations with Turkey in the future, said the country's president on Friday.

Aleksandar Vucic's remarks came after a working lunch with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Istanbul.

"[With Turkey] we want to keep our best level relations and further develop friendly relations in the future," said Vucic.

Turkey has an important influence in the Western Balkans, he stressed, adding that there is excellent communication between the two countries.

''This is very important from our perspective. Turkey is among one of the most important regional powers and also a power [moving] to a more prominent position in the world every day,'' said Vucic.

The leaders also discussed the dialogue process between Serbia and Kosovo.

"I listened to Mr. Erdoğan's stance on this issue and I explained our position to him. He treats Serbia with respect," noted the Serbian president.

Vucic said they responded evenly to anyone who respects Serbia, adding that they want to live with no regard to the idea of parting with Turkey.

Serbian and Kosovar leaders in early September met in a US-sponsored two-day talks in Washington where they reached an historic milestone -- agreeing to normalize economic ties.

Serbia and Kosovo signed separate agreements with the US in which Serbia agreed to move its embassy to Jerusalem.

While Kosovo and Israel also agreed to normalize relations and establish diplomatic ties, Serbia agreed to open a commercial office in Jerusalem in September.