"U.S. seeks creative solution"

The U.S. firmly supports the Troika-led negotiating process, says Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic after talks in Washington. After a meeting yesterday with Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried, Djelic said that the State Department felt an increased desire to reach a solution acceptable to both Belgrade and Pristina. "U.S. seeks creative solution" “The key message is that the U.S. strongly supports the negotiating process and wants everyone to offer creative solutions that could lead to a compromise solution, that would be acceptable to both sides. There is a feeling here in Washington of an increased focus and desire to find an acceptable solution,” said the deputy prime minister. However, he stressed that Serbia faced a tough time ahead in the next few weeks, as there were still people in the U.S. that strongly backed the Kosovo Albanian side in the talks. “There is still a powerful movement in the U.S. that seeks Kosovo independence. It’s up to us to fight every day with all available diplomatic means. American officials said it was extremely important for Serbia to continue its policy of negotiation, with diplomatic arguments, and to in no way use force,” said Djelic. The deputy prime minister said that the U.S. expected an investment agreement to be signed soon, and that it supported Serbia’s European integration. He will continue his visit by taking part at the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank. Bozidar Djelic (FoNet, archive)

"U.S. seeks creative solution"

“The key message is that the U.S. strongly supports the negotiating process and wants everyone to offer creative solutions that could lead to a compromise solution, that would be acceptable to both sides. There is a feeling here in Washington of an increased focus and desire to find an acceptable solution,” said the deputy prime minister.

However, he stressed that Serbia faced a tough time ahead in the next few weeks, as there were still people in the U.S. that strongly backed the Kosovo Albanian side in the talks.

“There is still a powerful movement in the U.S. that seeks Kosovo independence. It’s up to us to fight every day with all available diplomatic means. American officials said it was extremely important for Serbia to continue its policy of negotiation, with diplomatic arguments, and to in no way use force,” said Đelić.

The deputy prime minister said that the U.S. expected an investment agreement to be signed soon, and that it supported Serbia’s European integration. He will continue his visit by taking part at the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank.