Serbia's Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic on Wednesday summoned the country's Ambassador in Kyiv Rade Bulatovic to Belgrade to discuss current issues concerning relations with Ukraine, the Serbian Foreign Ministry said on its website.

"As is known, Serbia has said more than once that it has respected the territorial integrity of Ukraine from the onset of the crisis in Ukraine. This was also confirmed during Serbia's OSCE chairmanship. In addition to that, Serbia has taken a series of specific steps to prosecute Serbian citizens fighting abroad, including in Ukraine, thus demonstrating its commitment to honoring its obligations as part of international law," the ministry said on its website.

Dacic also recalled that Ukrainian mercenaries had been involved in crimes committed by Croatian forces against the Serbs in Croatia, and, unlike Serbia, Ukraine has never condemned these crimes.

"The goal of diplomatic missions in foreign countries should become an improvement of bilateral relations between states... Foreign Minister of Serbia Ivica Dacic will discuss further steps regarding relations with Ukraine with Ambassador Bulatovic over the next few days," it said.

Serbia remains committed to building good relations with Ukraine based on the principles of mutual respect and will not allow these ties to be offered up as a sacrifice to "international relations that have nothing to do with Serbia," it said.

Serbia's Foreign Ministry earlier condemned remarks made by Ukrainian Ambassador in Belgrade Oleksandr Aleksandrovych who criticized Russian-Serbian relations, and also Aleksandrovych's claims alleging Serbian mercenaries' role in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin summoned Aleksandrovych for consultations afterwards.