"Formula found" for Sarajevo conference

Serbian and Italian FMs Vuk Jeremic and Franco Frattini announced that a summit of the two countries’ governments would be held in October in Belgrade. They said that political and economic relations between the two countries are constantly improving. "Formula found" for Sarajevo conference Frattini, who is visiting Belgrade, said that Italy supports Serbia’s EU integration, adding that two important dates in Serbia’s process would be confirmed over the next several weeks – Serbia’s EU candidacy application and the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) ratification. Jeremic noted that Italy was Serbia’s top trade partner, adding that Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and a large number of Italian ministers would be participating in the October summit. He and Frattini also talked about the regional conference scheduled to take place in Sarajevo on June 2. Frattini said that he hopes that a solution could be found that would enable everyone from the region to participate, and said this solution might be the so-called Gymnich format. The Italian minister also revealed that Belgrade “reacted positively” to this suggestion, and that he would present it to the Kosovo Albanian officials when he travels to Pristina this afternoon. Belgrade was refusing to take part in international meetings where Kosovo would be represented outside the boundaries set by UNSCR 1244. "This is a formula where the participants would be presented with personal names, not names of countries. It is a kind of informal meeting. I am glad that the Serbian side has shown interest, I will forward the suggestion to Pristina," Frattini said today ahead of his trip to the province. Late this afternoon, after meeting with the Kosovo Albanian officials, he said that they too agreed to travel to Sarajevo and participate in the gathering organized in this format. It entails representation without "state names and symbols", and renders the meeting an informal gathering. Earlier today in Belgrade, Jeremic said that Serbia was being constructive regarding the organization of the Sarajevo conference, adding that he believed that a solution would be found that would enable everyone to participate. "I believe that Pristina will also show a level of readiness to approach this problem in a sensible manner," Jeremic said. He added, however, that there were “red lines that cannot be crossed with any amount of good will.” “These are the lines of international law and Resolution 1244. Kosovo cannot be represented anywhere in a way that goes against Resolution 1244, which calls for the role that UNMIK has played from 1999 to now,” Jeremic said. He said that Serbia’s stance is that “if there is no UNMIK, there is no Kosovo”. “I believe that when working together with a constructive approach we will find a solution that will enable all of is to appear in Sarajevo together,” Jeremic concluded. Jeremic and Frattini in Belgrade (Beta)

"Formula found" for Sarajevo conference

Frattini, who is visiting Belgrade, said that Italy supports Serbia’s EU integration, adding that two important dates in Serbia’s process would be confirmed over the next several weeks – Serbia’s EU candidacy application and the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) ratification.

Jeremić noted that Italy was Serbia’s top trade partner, adding that Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and a large number of Italian ministers would be participating in the October summit.

He and Frattini also talked about the regional conference scheduled to take place in Sarajevo on June 2. Frattini said that he hopes that a solution could be found that would enable everyone from the region to participate, and said this solution might be the so-called Gymnich format.

The Italian minister also revealed that Belgrade “reacted positively” to this suggestion, and that he would present it to the Kosovo Albanian officials when he travels to Priština this afternoon.

Belgrade was refusing to take part in international meetings where Kosovo would be represented outside the boundaries set by UNSCR 1244.

"This is a formula where the participants would be presented with personal names, not names of countries. It is a kind of informal meeting. I am glad that the Serbian side has shown interest, I will forward the suggestion to Priština," Frattini said today ahead of his trip to the province.

Late this afternoon, after meeting with the Kosovo Albanian officials, he said that they too agreed to travel to Sarajevo and participate in the gathering organized in this format.

It entails representation without "state names and symbols", and renders the meeting an informal gathering.

Earlier today in Belgrade, Jeremić said that Serbia was being constructive regarding the organization of the Sarajevo conference, adding that he believed that a solution would be found that would enable everyone to participate.

"I believe that Priština will also show a level of readiness to approach this problem in a sensible manner," Jeremić said.

He added, however, that there were “red lines that cannot be crossed with any amount of good will.”

“These are the lines of international law and Resolution 1244. Kosovo cannot be represented anywhere in a way that goes against Resolution 1244, which calls for the role that UNMIK has played from 1999 to now,” Jeremić said.

He said that Serbia’s stance is that “if there is no UNMIK, there is no Kosovo”.

“I believe that when working together with a constructive approach we will find a solution that will enable all of is to appear in Sarajevo together,” Jeremić concluded.