Dialogue has no alternative, committee chairman says

JAGODINA Serbian parliament's Committee on Kosovo Chairman Milovan Drecun says the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue will continue because it has no alternative. According to him, Pristina, with help from Brussels, is using the fact that Serbia is trying to get a date for the start of the EU accession talks to get concessions that Belgrade simply cannot agree to. Dialogue has no alternative, committee chairman says He stressed that the concessions Pristina wanted were contrary to the Resolution and Platform on Kosovo and that they jeopardized interests of Serbia and Serbian people in Kosovo. Drecun believes that it could lead to a partial suspension of the dialogue but “what future would both we and Albanians have if we completely stopped the dialogue”. “It seems to me that the EU is not quite aware of dangers and future of the entire region if the dialogue was suspended and Kosovo turned toward Tirana and Greater Albania,” the Committee on Kosovo chairman stressed. “Serbia is offering a compromise, not because it wants a date but because it wants to reach a sustainable, essential agreement between the Serbian and Albanian sides in Kosovo. (Kosovo PM) Hashim Thaci is trying to understand, partly under pressure from Brussels that wants to stabilize the situation, but also under pressure of the fact that Kosovo with self-proclaimed independence as it is now has no perspective because it is an economic despair, it is a black hole of Europe,” Drecun noted. According to him, a solution is to “give essential autonomy to Kosovo with all authorities they gave themselves with the self-proclaimed independence but within Serbia’s constitutional and legal framework”. Drecun said that Serbia would be under a lot of pressure and that it would not be easy for Prime Minister Ivica Dacic to negotiate in Brussels. However, he stressed that it was “evident that nobody can and will not accept solutions contrary to the Resolution on political issue of Kosovo and the Platform on behalf of Belgrade”. “The Serbian institutions cannot be withdrawn from northern Kosovo until a safe mechanism for survival and protection of Serbian people is reached and that safe mechanism cannot be under Pristina’s laws,“ Drecun explained and stressed that Brussels would have to keep in mind that five EU member states had not recognized Kosovo’s unilaterally declared independence. Milovan Drecun (Tanjug, file) Tanjug

Dialogue has no alternative, committee chairman says

He stressed that the concessions Priština wanted were contrary to the Resolution and Platform on Kosovo and that they jeopardized interests of Serbia and Serbian people in Kosovo.

Drecun believes that it could lead to a partial suspension of the dialogue but “what future would both we and Albanians have if we completely stopped the dialogue”.

“It seems to me that the EU is not quite aware of dangers and future of the entire region if the dialogue was suspended and Kosovo turned toward Tirana and Greater Albania,” the Committee on Kosovo chairman stressed.

“Serbia is offering a compromise, not because it wants a date but because it wants to reach a sustainable, essential agreement between the Serbian and Albanian sides in Kosovo. (Kosovo PM) Hashim Thaci is trying to understand, partly under pressure from Brussels that wants to stabilize the situation, but also under pressure of the fact that Kosovo with self-proclaimed independence as it is now has no perspective because it is an economic despair, it is a black hole of Europe,” Drecun noted.

According to him, a solution is to “give essential autonomy to Kosovo with all authorities they gave themselves with the self-proclaimed independence but within Serbia’s constitutional and legal framework”.

Drecun said that Serbia would be under a lot of pressure and that it would not be easy for Prime Minister Ivica Dačić to negotiate in Brussels.

However, he stressed that it was “evident that nobody can and will not accept solutions contrary to the Resolution on political issue of Kosovo and the Platform on behalf of Belgrade”.

“The Serbian institutions cannot be withdrawn from northern Kosovo until a safe mechanism for survival and protection of Serbian people is reached and that safe mechanism cannot be under Priština’s laws,“ Drecun explained and stressed that Brussels would have to keep in mind that five EU member states had not recognized Kosovo’s unilaterally declared independence.