Kosovo Office chief: Pristina canceled negotiations

Kosovo Office chief: Pristina canceled negotiations

"This is not only a violation of the provisions of the Brussels agreement relating to the creation of the ZSO, we're talking about a completely blatant violation of the provision 14, which refers to the fact that Pristina is obligated not to block Serbia when it comes to European integration... In political terms, it is an attempt of Pristina to bring our country into a kind of political hostage crisis," Djuric said.

During a press conference held at the Serbian government headquarters in Belgrade, Djuric said that the talks on the ZSO were scheduled to take place on Tuesday, adding that they Pristina on Friday "unilaterally canceled them, justifying that decision with internal political reasons."

He added that a Serbian delegation will on Tuesday travel to the scheduled negotiations, talk with representatives of the European Union, and show that it is meeting its part of the obligations stemming from the Brussels agreement.

"Let it be clear that Serbia is in favor of the Brussels agreement to be fully implemented in the part referring to the ZSO and in all other parts. It is very important that the European and international public sees where lies the cause of the main obstacles and barriers to both the implementation of the agreement and the normalization of relations," said Djuric.

He called on the EU, as the guarantor of the Brussels agreement, not to allow Belgrade to be a hostage of the decisions made by Pristina, and return the Kosovo authorities to negotiations on the establishment of the ZSO.

"Nobody and nothing can stop the community of Serb municipalities in Kosovo and Metohija. Ten Serbian municipalities will work together, the community will be formed, we will persevere until we get what belongs to us and what has been agreed by the Brussels agreement... All our institutions will continue to work and everything that is envisaged in the agreement will be implemented," he said.

Djuric added that in informal discussions, EU representatives "expressed their dissatisfaction with the developments," adding that it was "best to wait for an official response from Brussels."

He also stated that Belgrade has not intention of handing over the accumulation system of Lake Gazivode to Pristina, as most of its hydro-accumulative capacity is located in central Serbia, while the issue of its "management" has not been mentioned in any of the agreements reached with Pristina .

Djuric accused Pristina of resorting to "tricks" when it is asking to be given the right to manage Gazivode, and delay the solving of the issue of ownership for later, and said Serbia "does not want to agree to it."

"We have no intention of making concessions when it comes to such an important hydro potential. We are looking for someone to show us which agreement mentions the word 'Gazivode'. The word 'Gazivode' is not mentioned in any agreement, not in that related to the issue of energy, not in the Brussels agreement," Djuric said.

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic addressed the same issue on Thursday ahead of his meeting with EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn, to say those who wished to see him hand over 100 percent ownership of Gazivode to Pristina "would have to find another prime minister."