"KFOR caused political harm by removing barricades"

Oliver Ivanovic has said that that NATO troops in Kosovo, KFOR, "perhaps achieved military success by clearing roadblocks in northern Kosovo". But this came at a price of causing political damage, said this official of the Ministry for Kosovo in the outgoing government. "KFOR caused political harm by removing barricades" "Every Serb will now view KFOR representatives with suspicion, which is not good, as KFOR was the only international institution that had the trust of both the ethnic Albanians and Serbs," Ivanovic asserted. "If KFOR and EULEX provided strong guarantees they would not allow anyone armed to enter northern Kosovo and threaten Serbs, the Serbs would remove the roadblocks on their own," Ivanovic told Belgrade-based TV Pink on Monday. "This way, if KFOR can go through, who can guarantee to us that special units of ethnic Albanians will not go through tomorrow," said he. Commenting on the construction of a Kosovo government office in the Serb, northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica, Ivanovic stated he "did no know who needed it and that timing the construction ahead of the talks on Kosovo was a way to undermine Serbia's position". "The office is an attempt by the Kosovo government to prove that northern Kosovo is under its authority, and incidents could be the result of it," he noted. Ivanovic also appealing on Slobodan Petrovic - a Serb who is a member of the Kosovo Albanian government in Pristina - "not to support the opening of the office", noting that "the issue of the north" would be "defined in the (Kosovo) dialogue". Serbs are the majority population north of the Ibar River and reject the authority of the Kosovo Albanian government in Pristina, as well as the ethnic Albanian unilateral declaration of independence made in February 2008. Oliver Ivanovic (file) Tanjug TV Pink

"KFOR caused political harm by removing barricades"

"Every Serb will now view KFOR representatives with suspicion, which is not good, as KFOR was the only international institution that had the trust of both the ethnic Albanians and Serbs," Ivanović asserted.

"If KFOR and EULEX provided strong guarantees they would not allow anyone armed to enter northern Kosovo and threaten Serbs, the Serbs would remove the roadblocks on their own," Ivanović told Belgrade-based TV Pink on Monday.

"This way, if KFOR can go through, who can guarantee to us that special units of ethnic Albanians will not go through tomorrow," said he.

Commenting on the construction of a Kosovo government office in the Serb, northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica, Ivanović stated he "did no know who needed it and that timing the construction ahead of the talks on Kosovo was a way to undermine Serbia's position".

"The office is an attempt by the Kosovo government to prove that northern Kosovo is under its authority, and incidents could be the result of it," he noted.

Ivanović also appealing on Slobodan Petrović - a Serb who is a member of the Kosovo Albanian government in Priština - "not to support the opening of the office", noting that "the issue of the north" would be "defined in the (Kosovo) dialogue".

Serbs are the majority population north of the Ibar River and reject the authority of the Kosovo Albanian government in Priština, as well as the ethnic Albanian unilateral declaration of independence made in February 2008.