"Instant solution for Kosovo is recognition; we won't do it"

"Instant solution for Kosovo is recognition; we won't do it"

Ethnic Albanians in Kosovo unilaterally declared independence in this southern Serbian province in 2008, an act that Belgrade considers a violation of its Constitution and its territorial integrity.

Vucic was taking part in a debate today on the election of his new cabinet when he made the comments about "instant solutions and Gordian knots" after opposition LDP party leader Cedomir Jovanovic said that "we in Serbia often lie to one another, that Kosovo is our most valued word, while individuals know little about it, for example: they have no idea where Glogovac is and whether Serbs live there."

To this, Vucic also replied:

"It's true that ignorance is for the most part leading us into extremism that we admire, but that does not mean we have the right to give up on our territory, because according to that principle borders would change in many countries."

Vucic also said that his previous government "did the difficult and important work" with the Brussels agreement - reached within the EU-sponsored Belgrade-Pristina dialogue - and compared it to the Dayton peace agreement that ended the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and which, according to the PM-designate, protects the rights of Serbs, and safeguards the Serb Republic (RS) - i.e., the Serb entity in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

"Professionally the most difficult job for me was having to explain to the Serbs after the Brussels agreement what it was, and I told them then that in the past we attacked the Dayton agreement, and now it's the Holy Writ that protects the rights of Serbs," said Vucic.

He added that "Serbs must talk to Albanians because that is a nationally responsible policy."

"We must also strive to have more Albanians in central Serbia, that they leave their money here," he said, adding that Albanians are "a people undergoing growth with whom one has to talk and look for solutions for the future."

As for Bosnia-Herzegovina, the PM-designate thinks the situation there is "much more complicated and difficult" - because "outside factors from the region" are included.

Vucic also said that Serbia is "not to blame" for the current state of relations with Croatia - "because we did nothing."

"Helping our people is our business. We managed to secure that the RS has good relations with Serbia, that it finds its way out of several turbulent political crises, to have best possible relations with representatives of Serbs in Croatia," Vucic said.