"I believe that today's meeting can be seen as a certain breakthrough in the Lithuanian-Serbian dialogue or the resumption of that dialogue," Butkevčius told journalists on Tuesday after a meeting with his Serbian counterpart.
Lithuania remains the last EU member state which has yet to ratify the Stabilization and Association Agreement between Serbia and the European Union and in December, Lithuania joined a handful of countries that were against the European Union (EU) setting a specific date for launching membership negotiations with Serbia.
Butkevičius told on Tuesday that Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dačić's meetings with Lithuanian leaders "will step up the ratification of the agreement." The Lithuanian prime minister also repeated several times that Lithuania supports Serbia's EU integration.
Meanwhile, Dačić said that "Serbia's progress is sufficient not only for the ratification of the Stabilization and Association Agreement but also for setting a date for Serbia's negotiations with the EU."
"26 EU member states, including countries which traditionally could have had one or the other unresolved issues with our country, have already ratified the agreement," the Serbian prime minister told journalists in Vilnius.
"Since in both countries the governments have only recently assumed their offices, I came here for us to try and resolve some issues which have so far prevented our further cooperation," Dačić said.
Lithuania has been among outspoken critics of Serbia in the EU and has expressed resentment about Serbia's treatment of Lithuanian investors. Lithuania has on numerous occasions criticized Serbia for its treatment of Lithuanian companies Arvi, Alita, and Sanitex that had their assets nationalized in Serbia. Dačić said on Tuesday that business problems could be resolved by special working groups.
Moreover, Lithuania was also resentful of what it said was Serbia's unexpected proposition of a candidate for president of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly. The Serbian candidate triumphed over the Lithuanian nominee Dalius Čekuolis. The Serbian nomination was publicly supported by Russia.
Leaders of EU member states should decide on the start of negotiations with Serbia in June. Serbia's stalling talks with Kosovo might undermine the negotiations after Belgrade rejected a Brussels-mediated proposal earlier this month.
"We welcome efforts by the Government of Serbia on the path of reforms, especially on the normalization of relations with neighboring Kosovo," Butkevičius said.
22 EU member states, including Lithuania, recognize the independence of Kosovo, with five EU member states officially considering Kosovo part of Serbia.
Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė also received the Serbian prime minister on Tuesday and said that "the decision to start EU accession talks with Serbia will depend on the success of this country's dialogue with Kosovo."
Grybauskaitė also said that "it's very important for Serbia to ensure a business environment matching European standards and comply with agreements on the protection of foreign investments," according to a statement by the Press Service of the President.
