Kosovo partition "out of question"

Mayor of southern Kosovska Mitrovica Bajram Rexhepi says that “partition of Kosovo is out of the question.” Rexhepi told Novi Sad daily Dnevnik that the partition scenario could have had some chance of success when Zoran Djindjic was in power. Kosovo partition "out of question" “But, now that Kosovo is an independent state, recognized by some of the most powerful countries in the world, such a scenario should simply be forgotten about,” he told the daily. He said that Belgrade and Pristina could relaunch negotiatons, but this time only on establishing good neighborly relations, adding that “legally speaking” Kosovo’s borders were internationally recognized. Rexhepi admitted that there were certain difficulties in the implementation of certain central authority functions in the north of Kosovo, but he said that the application of the Kosovo constitution and laws in the north of the province would happen in the end, even if the process took months, or even years. He said that a partition would not be in the interests of the Serb community, reiterating that two-thirds of Kosovo Serbs live south of the Ibar river. “Moreover, ethnic Albanians are dispersed around five countries, and regional stability would be gravely jeopardized with such an outcome. We want the entire Western Balkans to progress towards European integration, and once we all become EU members, those borders will lose the meaning they have today,” Rexhepi said. The mayor stressed that any talk of Kosovo’s partition would open many old wounds, including the issue of the Presevo Valley in southern Serbia, where a large ethnic Albanian population lives. "However, neither we, nor the international community are interested in such calculations. So, it would be better if the situation remained as it is now, and for the Serbian authorities to take a keener interest in improving the life of the Serb ethnic community in Kosovo, to help them practically, instead of holding them hostage to the needs of their everyday politics,” Rexhepi told the daily.

Kosovo partition "out of question"

“But, now that Kosovo is an independent state, recognized by some of the most powerful countries in the world, such a scenario should simply be forgotten about,” he told the daily.

He said that Belgrade and Priština could relaunch negotiatons, but this time only on establishing good neighborly relations, adding that “legally speaking” Kosovo’s borders were internationally recognized.

Rexhepi admitted that there were certain difficulties in the implementation of certain central authority functions in the north of Kosovo, but he said that the application of the Kosovo constitution and laws in the north of the province would happen in the end, even if the process took months, or even years.

He said that a partition would not be in the interests of the Serb community, reiterating that two-thirds of Kosovo Serbs live south of the Ibar river.

“Moreover, ethnic Albanians are dispersed around five countries, and regional stability would be gravely jeopardized with such an outcome. We want the entire Western Balkans to progress towards European integration, and once we all become EU members, those borders will lose the meaning they have today,” Rexhepi said.

The mayor stressed that any talk of Kosovo’s partition would open many old wounds, including the issue of the Preševo Valley in southern Serbia, where a large ethnic Albanian population lives.

"However, neither we, nor the international community are interested in such calculations. So, it would be better if the situation remained as it is now, and for the Serbian authorities to take a keener interest in improving the life of the Serb ethnic community in Kosovo, to help them practically, instead of holding them hostage to the needs of their everyday politics,” Rexhepi told the daily.