Priština refuses to discuss autonomy

The Pristina Kosovo status negotiating team said that it would not return to “past debates of autonomy” for the province. The last meeting between the Pristina and Belgrade delegations on Monday signified not only a proper transition to direct negotiations between the two sides, but was also the most difficult and impassioned set of talks since the beginning of the Kosovo status negotiations under UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari, according to Pristina. Pristina refuses to discuss autonomy Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu said that this week’s talks in Vienna represented a demonstration of two worlds, one in which "Belgrade wished to repeat Kosovo’s past, while Pristina focused on reality and a sustainable and long-term solution. " Sejdiu blamed Serbia for the tension, saying that the Belgrade team had provoked verbal conflicts between the two delegations at the Vienna meeting by presenting a stance that Kosovo was a Serbian province whose rights depended on the will of Belgrade. “They used outdated vocabulary which put a burden on the process – Kosovo is a Serbian province, Kosovo and Metohija, we’ll never recognize you – was the context in which they operated,” Sejdiu said. When journalists asked how the Pristina team had reacted, Sejdiu said, “we said who we were and defined the political will of Kosovo’s citizens, we also said that independence and sovereignty for Kosovo would be allowed.”

Priština refuses to discuss autonomy

Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu said that this week’s talks in Vienna represented a demonstration of two worlds, one in which "Belgrade wished to repeat Kosovo’s past, while Priština focused on reality and a sustainable and long-term solution. "

Sejdiu blamed Serbia for the tension, saying that the Belgrade team had provoked verbal conflicts between the two delegations at the Vienna meeting by presenting a stance that Kosovo was a Serbian province whose rights depended on the will of Belgrade.

“They used outdated vocabulary which put a burden on the process – Kosovo is a Serbian province, Kosovo and Metohija, we’ll never recognize you – was the context in which they operated,” Sejdiu said.

When journalists asked how the Priština team had reacted, Sejdiu said, “we said who we were and defined the political will of Kosovo’s citizens, we also said that independence and sovereignty for Kosovo would be allowed.”