Serbia should “initiate talks on Kosovo status”

Serbian Labor and Social Policy Minister Rasim Ljajic has said that Serbia should initiate negotiations on Kosovo and northern Kosovo status. “Serbia should initiate talks on the status of Kosovo and northern Kosovo at one level, and the technical talks which have been launched should be conducted at the level of ministries and expert groups,” told daily Blic. Serbia should “initiate talks on Kosovo status” "When it comes to talks on the status, we should face the reality in Kosovo. On the one hand, there are Serbs who live south to the Ibar River, and on the other there are those in the north, who are a bike-ride away from central Serbia," Ljajic was quoted as saying. He pointed out that Serbia should take care of all of them, with two policies appropriate for the circumstances - one that allows Serbs south to Ibar to take part in elections, political process and process of making decisions related to them, and the other which implies that the Serbs in northern Kosovo pursue an active policy, with democratic means only. When asked whether the European integration is becoming a European blackmail, the minister said that he supported neither Euro-skepticism nor Euro-fanaticism. “Serbia should do everything possible to become part of the Union, and our EU orientation is not debatable, but we cannot do the impossible,” he concluded. Rasim Ljajic

Serbia should “initiate talks on Kosovo status”

"When it comes to talks on the status, we should face the reality in Kosovo. On the one hand, there are Serbs who live south to the Ibar River, and on the other there are those in the north, who are a bike-ride away from central Serbia," Ljajić was quoted as saying.

He pointed out that Serbia should take care of all of them, with two policies appropriate for the circumstances - one that allows Serbs south to Ibar to take part in elections, political process and process of making decisions related to them, and the other which implies that the Serbs in northern Kosovo pursue an active policy, with democratic means only.

When asked whether the European integration is becoming a European blackmail, the minister said that he supported neither Euro-skepticism nor Euro-fanaticism.

“Serbia should do everything possible to become part of the Union, and our EU orientation is not debatable, but we cannot do the impossible,” he concluded.