Belgrade, Priština reach agreement on crossings

KPS reduced to ''observer status'' with no fake state symbols and MUP allowed into Kosmet. Ha Ha! FAIL! The first concrete manifestation of 1244 we have seen so far! One small step for Serbs, one giant leap for Serbdom. A precedent is set, so we are a step closer to canceling the Kumanovo agreement and bringing back MUP and VS to liberate Serb holy land.

bravo to the Serbs and Albanians,the losers are the criminals of both sides.

What a waste of time are the Serbian polititian!

You are the man Borko !!
This is all according to res 1244 which by all states:

Annex 2:6
"After withdrawal, an agreed number of Yugoslav and Serbian personnel will be permitted to return to perform the following functions:

Liaison with the international civil mission and the international security presence;
Marking/clearing minefields;
Maintaining a presence at Serb patrimonial sites;
Maintaining a presence at key border crossings."

"As a special success in the agreement, Stefanović noted that Serbia's police and financial officers would return to Kosovo and their exercise their functions, which is in accordance with Resolution 1244."

I really could not believe Serbia was able to do this, but this is also a great victory for prsetving Serbia's sovereignty over Kosovo! Serbian Police are returning to Kosovo. Im sure their not going to Albanian areas, but they will be in the Serbian North and Serbian Enclaves south of the Ibar. This is a huge victory for Serbia.

This is a major succes for Serbia! Priština has not put any state symbols on the Administrative Crossings, EULEX is the force that is going to be in charge at the crossings along with Serbia while Kosovo Albanians remain Observers, and Serbians can enter Kosovo with their Serbian License Plates that say the towns of Kosovo. Major Success! The Administrative Line remains only a Provincial Boundary! To be honest I did not expect Serbia to get so much out of this agreement!

BIG BIG DAY FOR KOSOVA now Be a men Borislav Stefanović tell serbs the truth tell them Mitrovica is Part of Kosova and you agree to have Border between Kosova and Serbia tell those criminalse in Mitrovica leave roadblocks and leave Kosova soon as possibele.

She also stressed that the talks would not continue on Saturday.

“We are going back to Priština tomorrow morning,” Tahiri said.

Tahiri was honest and told the truth last night and wish I can say the same for Borko. I wonder what prompted Borko to speak the truth today!?

I guess the devil is in the details. I am sure Borko is spinning it as positively as possible. Nevertheless, let's hope this is a step in the right direction. Sounds like the Serbs got some decent "guarantees", whether germany sticks to them is another matter. i feel we have gone as far as we can go with the barricades, and this is the right time for us to cut a deal. We have made our point! Kosovo will not succeed without Serbia and we have the strongest historical and political claims to it.

This agreement means nothing until the Serbs on the ground at the barricades agree to it, they are the ones fighting for freedom here.

"IS IT CLEAR TO YOU NOW?"

Agim Kelmendi


Perhaps if your english was better we'd understand. After your explanations it's even more confusing.

EA

At all bordercrossings there will be serb and albanian border gueards. Why is that if Kosovo is independent?
(Tom Tom, 3 December 2011 14:54)

Sorry Tom Tom, you must be more clear with your comment ,bc, it makes no sense when you addressed EA.
I will try to explain to you the way it works, as follows: " On the side of Kosova border checkpoint, there will be K-Albanian and K-Serbian working hand in hand and wearing Kosova border police uniform, and on Serbian side who cares who is there. Check Merdare border checkpoint, so you get an idea how it works?"
IS IT CLEAR TO YOU NOW?

Time for peace has come. Serbia can now take RS as far as I'm concerned.

Pretty much north Kosovo needs to decide do they align themselves with Pristina which says that customs agents will return to the checkpoint, or do they align themselves with Belgrade which says customs agents will return to checkpoints.

Does this mean that Pristina can now send their Customs Officials at the border? Since the roads are blocked, has Pristina now a legitimized right to remove the barricades and respond with force if the Serbs resist? If this should happen, how can the Belgrade say something against? They have agreed to have Pristina Customs Officials there.
(Fez, 3 December 2011 14:25)

It means that Serbian border police and officials will now be manning the administrative border between Serbia and Kosmet as well as its international borders with Crna Gora, Macedonia and Albania with the Pristina people there as observers. As far as I can read it, thats what Resolution 1244 says.

Not enough details. Both sides can twist this how ever they want until the details of a final agreement are made public. I doubt that Prishtina would agree to be observers while Belgrade and EULEX handles the crossings. I also doubt that Serbia would agree to Kosovan state symbols. At the same time the Kosovars would not accept Serbian state symbols without Kosovan state symbols. Details! No one should claim to have won without the DETAILS made public.

Does this mean that Pristina can now send their Customs Officials at the border? Since the roads are blocked, has Pristina now a legitimized right to remove the barricades and respond with force if the Serbs resist? If this should happen, how can the Belgrade say something against? They have agreed to have Pristina Customs Officials there.

“After three days of marathon talks we finally reached an agreement on the integrated control of the crossings. Both parties have agreed to implement a European model at all six crossings,”

This is great for both people and goods moving from Serbia to Kosovo and viceversa as it will significantly reduce the time they have to spent for the customs processing at the crossings.

"At all bordercrossings there will be serb and albanian border gueards. Why is that if Kosovo is independent? "

It's called Integrated Border Management, Kosova has the same exact deal with Crna Gora, Albania and Macedonia. This means that Serbia recognized the border, no matter what they say.

EA

At all bordercrossings there will be serb and albanian border gueards. Why is that if Kosovo is independent?

Roberto from Frisco, please give it a rest. You are on here with no intention but to provoke. I feel very sorry for you, a sad and bitter man. You are stuck to the past with no intention of coming out. Whatever is the cause of your bitterness, I think its time you overcame that or if not I recommend that you see your psychiatrist or doctor.

The Fourth Plan to Solve the Crisis of North Kosovo:
http://www.sp.sdu.edu.cn/narci/works/a029.htm

Does this mean that Pristina can now send their Customs Officials at the border? Since the roads are blocked, has Pristina now a legitimized right to remove the barricades and respond with force if the Serbs resist? If this should happen, how can the Belgrade say something against? They have agreed to have Pristina Customs Officials there.
(Fez, 3 December 2011 14:25)

Customs officials have been at the crossings since 1999, my friend, to collect customs taxes as mandated by UNMIK regulation no 3 of 1999. The point of the agreement is how to make the customs processing more efficient so that the individual and commercial traffic can complete the customs processing at the crossings as fast as possible.

The collection of customs taxes for goods destined to Kosovo was not up for discussion, and could not be up for discussion. That's already been decided by UNMIK and is the law.

BIG BIG DAY FOR KOSOVA now Be a men Borislav Stefanović tell serbs the truth tell them Mitrovica is Part of Kosova and you agree to have Border between Kosova and Serbia tell those criminalse in Mitrovica leave roadblocks and leave Kosova soon as possibele.

-“The concept of integrated management of crossings will be gradually implemented in practice as soon as possible,” it is added in the announcement.-

The whole topic of balkan borders is of great personal interest to me, since every time i visit (and no doubt next March as well)there is more border drama for us than you can shake a stick at. all retro ww2 drama, sort of like the quality of my long distance us-kosova phone line. this is exaggerated by the fact that we, my albanian frnd and myself, cross together.

i shiver, literally, to recall all of the times we've been turned away at the border by those "nice" serbian border guards, simply bc they are "administrative" crossings (oh, pls!) such bs.

the first time was near midnight, in dec. we actually had to get out of the bus, both tickets fully paid for, by me, of course, and walk! back to kosova. it was so bizarre but we could get no help from all of our "frnds" in high-ish places, so back we strolled, to the safety of the UN. but not, of course, before i told those nice serbian guards exactly what i thought of them. unfortunately in english. but some caught my drift. "where does he think he is, in america?!" one of them bellowed to my frnd, in serbo-croatian. whatever. that night we near froze in my fnd's uncle's unheated 2nd floor flat.

the next time we THought we had it right, but again i was turned back, at another crossing. this time the one border guard seemed a bit more sympathetic, but orders from belgrade... we had to walk back to unmik, who were generally understanding until i reached the (german) officer in command. he was a nasty piece, and quickly threatened to "detain" me if we didn't get the hell... my frnd, much more diplomatic than myself, rushed us onto the nearby bus, and i yellled for 5 minutes str8t, thereby endlessly entertaining the little girl in front of us, dressed in rags... probably roma,going into mitrovica.

then last time, en route to presheva, we thought we'd be smart and go thru macedonia, skopje... again, NOT! our frnds warned my pal not to even try it, so we had to separate, and meet later. it was awkward and crazy, but eventually we made it.

the point is, though the stories are fun to retell, and my frnds here just roll their eyes (the balkans...), it is so inconvenient and wasteful of time and money, BOth of which are in short supply. not to mention my not always mellow temper :()

But in the larger picture, all of it, all the border drama is such silliness, something that the normal western euro countries finally figured out. i mean the euro union is going thru great stress, no one knows how it will emerge -- but they ain't going back to ww2 borders, that's for sure. that's strictly for hollywood, and of course, the balkans.

and the real stories, of desperate economic str8ts, of human desperation, mafia ueber alles, none of that is ever talked about, just all of this endless ethnic crap, ancient animosities, recent animosities, blockades, daytonize the whole damn thing, bla bla bla. as if we have all learned nothing. the negotiations in brussels continue in starts and fits, and the blg regime sits at the table ONLY to make happy the euro powers. on their own they do nothing but threaten, lie and make trouble for their neighbors.

speaking of which, i am so glad that their agit-prop machine is finally dealing with the horrible war crimes of the 90s... oh, they're not? but some of us are writing about it, nearly every day, and yet poof! as if by magic, all unhappy stories of the past are gone, invisible, just the "freedom fighters" at the barricades, and the blgd regime with their wretched pronouncements. same ole commie-ville double speak crap.

as we have written so many times, there can be no real progress until the truth of the past is dealt with. there are victims on all sides of the ethnic divide, we have always said that, and the crimes must be adjudicated, not hidden away. blgd's "cooperation" with the hague, minimal and tense as it always was, merely skims the surface. so they finally stopped harboring mass murderers karadzic and mladic. big f---ing deal. they should have done so at LEAST 10 years before. the delays are digusting. meanwhile 1,000s of war criminals continue to be harbored by belgrade and banja luka. this is always acnowledged by the human rights intellectual dissidents, but how would anyone here know -- those grt men and women are utterly marginalized by the um democratic media here. as if they didn't EXIST! luckily for humanity they do, but you'd never know it here.

the truth is over 1,000 ethnic albanians, and 100s of non-albanians remain missing from all the "fun" of the 90s. most of the alb bodies will never be found
the blgd regime(s) have continued to cover up these horrors, these atrocities, and refuse to exhume any more mass graves -- the recent exhumation of the drina riverbed was completely begun by accident, and by the insistence of bosnian officials, and then mainly by bosnian volunteers. it is a story, a book in its own right, and we have written about it, but here in denial-land there was barely a word, par usual. shame!!

so, until these ugly and sordid matters come to light, and the blgd regime takes responsibility for the past AND the cover-ups, there will never be peace. nor justice. just a short pause between wars. is that the best you can do for yr children?!

ciao. roberto frisco

"EA

At all bordercrossings there will be serb and albanian border gueards. Why is that if Kosovo is independent?
Tom Tom"

- Tommie, that's because Kosovo is home to both Albanians and Serbs. And, it makes sense for both ethnic groups to man the border.

I am from New Zealand and accidentally I found this B92.com site. Serbia recognized the border weather is managed by Serbs or Kfor does not matter the argument is that Serbia accepted that there is a border between Kosovo and Serbia!!! That benefits the Albanians.

LOL I see roberto is back masturbating though his keyboard over something completely off topic. Hey buddy, why so verbose now and why so silent when a bunch of Albanians desecrated some Jewish graves in "Kosova"? What a poseur this guy is!

@Bahri

Your comment makes no sense. Serbia most definately does not recognize that there is an international border between Central Serbia and Kosovo. Serbia does however recognize that their is an Administrative Provincial Boundary and that it needs to be regulated accordingly. This agreement envisages Serbia and EULEX controlling the Administrative Line while the KPS just sits there as observers so I dont see how you can compare that to the borders "Kosovo" shares with Montenegro, Albania, and Macedonia. The Administrative Line also under the agreement will have none of "Kosovo's" "State Symbols" also showing that it is not an international border. Admit it the Administrative Line between Central Serbia and Kosovo remains Administrative! Nothing more, Nothig less! By the way anytime you are leaving Kosovo there is a big sign right before you cross the Administrative Provincial Boundary that clearly indicates it is not an International Border and that Kosovo is a Province! Just look at the link below! Look I completely understand that Albanians do not want to be ruled by Serbia but no one in Serbia is looking to rule you! Serbia wants to keep its cultural and historical heritage in Kosovo Serbian, preserve its state institutions in all of the Serbian Enclaves in Kosovo both North and South of the Ibar, and maintain its presence in the Province!

http://www.worldwidesmiles.biz/USERIMAGES/Kosovo%202004%20390.jpg

Thank you Stefanovic for recognizing Kosovo!
You´re welcome to Prishtina to celebrate.

Of course... Kosovo Police and Customs employees of Serb ethnicity were never excluded from serving at Kosovo's international borders with Crna Gora, Macedonia, Albania or Serbia.

Only Serbs tried to come up with some weird racist ideas about selecting employees for certain crossings based on their ethnicity !
(icj1, 4 December 2011 01:31)

Another Albanian with selective memory. You do know that Serbia is a multiethnic state and there are many non Serbs who serve in Serbia's armed forces, police, judiciary, customs etc. What I meant is for Serbia's border police and customs officers to patrol the border posts between Serbia and Albania wearing Republic of Serbia uniforms as stipulated in UN Resolution 1244.

However as Mike said, I'm prepared to wait until the full details are announced before I make my judgement. Until then, we shall wait.

I read now many sources and they say the complete opposite of what Borko claims. Actually, Serbia finally recognized Kosovo's borders. The border posts are manned by both sides and EULEX will observe that implementation. There is no mentioning of any border post to Macedonia, Albania or Montenegro, but only the six bordering North Kosovo with Serbia which will have now Albanian custom officers.

Don't know why some right wing Serbs call this is a success for them, but let them be.

Good job, Prishtina. You got everything what you wanted starting with the 25th July.

Cheers!

Roberto-the ultimate in selective memory and myopia. Really made my morning. Thanks. And if you were in Frisco, you're up at 3am on a Sunday night/Monday morning.

This agreement means nothing until the Serbs on the ground at the barricades agree to it, they are the ones fighting for freedom here.
(SCP UK, 3 December 2011 15:57)

You understood it well my friend. They are at the barricades and not at the crossings :) and there are secondary roads that bypass the barricades.

If I believe what Stefanovic is saying it means "we are not sure how much coffee and buscuits with be available for Kosovo customers observing what Serbian police and EULEX will be doing. I would love to see the original agreement if there is one from EU office. There still will be a frozen conflict until Serbia is made to recognise Kosovo independence. Serbia will complain about how the Kosovo "are implementing the agreement". Serbia will say "who cares we got candidate status for EU".

Two question only. What is an observer and whad does he do ??

In my opinion Stefanovic just made up this word. I mean if Kosovo officials will act as ''observers'' then serbian officials will act the same way.

Reamamber that Serbia is in a hurry to have agreements and not Kosovo. I don't think the Kosovo side would lower them self with Serbia. Everything and every deal is on equal basis. If Serbia gets and apple then Kosovo get's an apple. Serbs should not be fooled that by Stefanovic statment Serbia get's two apples.

This is better for Serbia than I first thought, even though its not perfect.
I have seen the signed document as you can see below.

" Agreed Conclusions
1. In line with the Lisbon Treaty, and relevant EU legislation (fn2) and given that both parties are part of the EU's Western Balkans agenda, they will be required gradually to harmonise their legislation with the EU acquis and in particular to apply the concept of IBM;
2. In the interest of faster and more effective processing, the parties, under the overall guidance of the EU, will apply the concept of IBM;
3. The parties intend gradually to set up joint integrated posts at all their common IBM crossing points. This cooperation will follow the best European practice as it is progressively further developed by the European Commission. The work will be given a high priority; the projects will be identified jointly and will be implemented as soon as practically possible;
4. The joint, integrated, single and secure posts will be located within a 'common area of IBM crossing points', jointly delineated, where officials of each party carry out relevant controls. Exceptionally, and limited to the common IBM areas, the parties will not display symbols of their respective jurisdictions ;
5. The arrangements will include a balanced presence, in line with requirements, from both parties of all related services such as customs, police etc. and will cover matters such as the location of the crossing points, the nature of the facility, opening hours etc. In line with its mandate (fn3) at the crossing points Jarinjë/Rudnice and Tabavije/Bërnjak, this presence will include EULEX officials. EULEX will also be present at crossing points Dheu i Bardhë/Konqul, Merdare/Merdarë, Mutivodë/Mutivode and Depce/Muçibabë;
6. At the core of the arrangement there will be a clear assignment of applicable legal responsibilities and liabilities to each party's jurisdiction;
7. A tri-partite implementation group, chaired by the EU, will be established to implement above arrangement as soon as practically possible. For that purpose, a technical Protocol will be developed and signed, if necessary separately with the EU, which will take account of the parties' different views on the question of status. The implications of these conclusions will be taken into account in implementing freedom of movement;
8. This agreement does not cover any general or specific revenue or fiscal matters;
fn 1 One party recognises the line as a border; the other party recognises the line as an administrative boundary.
fn 2 As defined especially in the Schengen Borders Code, Frontex Regulation, Local Border Traffic Regulation, VIS Regulation and Community Code on Visas;
fn 3 As defined by Council Joint Action 2008/124 CEFSP, Article 3, Section a;"

As you notice, nothing has gone forward for the K Albanian side. Nothing.
I would like you to pay special notice to the 4th paragraph where it says:
"...crossing points', jointly delineated, where officials of each party carry out relevant controls."
It says CROSSING POINTS and DELINEATED. Very important for Serbia !

Also, I would like to point at the eight paragraph. This may be the most important paragraph for Serbia the last 10 years. It says:
"This agreement does not cover any general or specific revenue or fiscal matters"
I dont think I have to expain this.
Again, big congratulations to Serbia, Stefanovic from the vast majority of the whole world !!

PS. I agree to take down the barricades. But make no mistake, be prepared on 20-30 places (maybe even more places), to put up again with extremely short notice. Stay safe.

Again, big congratulations to Serbia, Stefanovic from the vast majority of the whole world !!
(Staff, 3 December 2011 22:54)

Of course, big congratulations to Serbia for finally coming to its senses and understand that customs have nothing to do with recognition. It's just about making people's life easier.

Btw, I did not know that the vast majority of the world was composed by Staff. I thought there were some 190+ countries in the world. We learn everyday some new stuff about geography at this site.
----------

PS. I agree to take down the barricades. But make no mistake, be prepared on 20-30 places (maybe even more places), to put up again with extremely short notice. Stay safe.
(Staff, 3 December 2011 22:54)

Why remove them; they can stay there - who cares. If some people like to play with logs on the roads, why interrupt their entertainment ?!

You are the man Borko !!
This is all according to res 1244 which by all states:

Annex 2:6
"After withdrawal, an agreed number of Yugoslav and Serbian personnel will be permitted to return to perform the following functions:

Liaison with the international civil mission and the international security presence;
Marking/clearing minefields;
Maintaining a presence at Serb patrimonial sites;
Maintaining a presence at key border crossings."
(Staff, 3 December 2011 15:46)

Absolutely, everything is in line with 1244... at the crossing there will be a single office for customs processing with both Kosovo and Serbia personel, similarly to what happens in other countries which have an integrated border management for more efficient processing of the the traffic.

Avni your comment makes no sense at all. What does Bosnia-Herzegovina have to do with the negotiations that are ongoing between Belgrade and Pristina.

Was it not reported a couple of weeks ago that Tahiri was saying that "integrated" customs agents at borders was an European concept and Pristina supported it, and Stefanovic said that Serbia cannot accept any proposal with Albanian custom agents at the checkpoints. Now it is a Serbian idea??

Agreed. If there's one thing I've learned about Kosovo, it's what whatever is agreed upon is rarely, if ever, directly implemented. While it appears that the two crossings in northern Kosovo are more Belgrade-EULEX controlled, it remains to be seen how the other crossing points (Rudare, Medare, et al) will be managed and whether symbols will be displayed as well. It's one thing if we see something applied across the board. If there's "special status" for the two crossings into northern Kosovo, it looks like Belgrade is geering up for some sort of regional partition. I'll hold off on cheering or jeering until I see the details too because right now it seems almost too good for Belgrade's advantage.
(Mike, 3 December 2011 22:06)

Mike, I think you nailed it there. Kosovo is going to be partioned one way or the other and the details from what I have got so far are good for Belgrade. The K-Serb hothead leadership before reacting in haste should await the full details and sit down to discuss with President Tadic and KFOR. I hope there will be no more violence. As a K-Albanian, I hope that this will finally be the beginning of final agreement and reconciliation between Serbs and Albanians. I have many Serb and non Serb friends here in Novi Sad and I believe it is about time we put the past behind us and begin to live our lives again.

"IS IT CLEAR TO YOU NOW?"

Agim Kelmendi


Perhaps if your english was better we'd understand. After your explanations it's even more confusing.
(MikeC, 3 December 2011 19:15)

If my English was so bad, why would you respond to a comment that you do not understand???

It means that Serbian border police and officials will now be manning the administrative border between Serbia and Kosmet as well as its international borders with Crna Gora, Macedonia and Albania
(Niall O'Doherty, 3 December 2011 18:48)

Of course... Kosovo Police and Customs employees of Serb ethnicity were never excluded from serving at Kosovo's international borders with Crna Gora, Macedonia, Albania or Serbia.

Only Serbs tried to come up with some weird racist ideas about selecting employees for certain crossings based on their ethnicity !

"I really could not believe Serbia was able to do this, but this is also a great victory for prsetving Serbia's sovereignty over Kosovo! Serbian Police are returning to Kosovo. Im sure their not going to Albanian areas, but they will be in the Serbian North and Serbian Enclaves south of the Ibar. This is a huge victory for Serbia.
(Anonymous, 3 December 2011 17:09)

Just a small correction. Serbia's police and customs are not returning to Kosovo, but at crossing points between Kosovo and Serbia, in case they are not already in there. Even now traffic from Kosovo to Serbia is checked by Serbia's police and customs at the crossings.

In the future, at each crossing, instead of having two checkpoints as it now, there will be one only with Serbia and Kosovo police and customs working in the same office to make border processing more efficient. Eulex will be present, as well.

This is of course a great agreement which will significantly reduce the time that people have to spend at the crossings.

It means that Serbian border police and officials will now be manning the administrative border between Serbia and Kosmet as well as its international borders with Crna Gora, Macedonia and Albania with the Pristina people there as observers. As far as I can read it, thats what Resolution 1244 says.
(Niall O'Doherty, 3 December 2011 18:48)

It means that Serbian border police and officials will now be manning the border between Northern Ireland and UK, as well as between Mexico and USA. You agree with that body?

"Not enough details. Both sides can twist this how ever they want until the details of a final agreement are made public." (Valon)

-- That seems to be the gist of it. There's some sort of "checkpoints", making Albanians happy, but these checkpoints are jointly controlled - meaning one unit rather than one on each side of the "border" - thus making Serbs happy. No state symbols, so people can interpret what they like. From the looks of things right now, Belgrade achieved a considerable victory in getting this far.

"Details! No one should claim to have won without the DETAILS made public."

-- Agreed. If there's one thing I've learned about Kosovo, it's what whatever is agreed upon is rarely, if ever, directly implemented. While it appears that the two crossings in northern Kosovo are more Belgrade-EULEX controlled, it remains to be seen how the other crossing points (Rudare, Medare, et al) will be managed and whether symbols will be displayed as well. It's one thing if we see something applied across the board. If there's "special status" for the two crossings into northern Kosovo, it looks like Belgrade is geering up for some sort of regional partition. I'll hold off on cheering or jeering until I see the details too because right now it seems almost too good for Belgrade's advantage.

How can we be sure that EULEX will follow it's mandate since in many occasions they sided to the separatists in Pristina. Eulex has the executive power while pristina is the observer. hmmmm
(PRO-SERBIA, 4 December 2011 07:36)

Well, Eulex has insisted on the implementation of UNMIK regulation no 3 of 1999 for the collection of customs taxes at the crossings. Just because Pristina insists on the same (because UNMIK regulations are the law) it does not mean that Eulex is siding with Pristina. Eulex is siding with the Law and it has to.

I keep asking this same question over and over. Why does B92 give any oxygen to Roberto?
His posts are nothing but vile spew aimed at discrediting Serbia and all Serbs. Imagine he even complains about 100s of thousands of non Albanians missing and blames that on the Serbs too. We all know that all non Albanians are victims of Albanians and yet he chalks that up to the Serbs as well.

Sometimes I don't even feel like coming on this site because I know I am likely to encounter Roberto.
Maybe that's what B92 is trying to accomplish. Get enough Serbs to feel like they are coming onto an Albanian site and perhaps many will abandon it.
Who knows, but I know I am not only talking for myself. What do the rest of the Serbs think? Do they feel sick to the stomach when they see his post?

How can we be sure that EULEX will follow it's mandate since in many occasions they sided to the separatists in Pristina. Eulex has the executive power while pristina is the observer. hmmmm

- Tommie, that's because Kosovo is home to both Albanians and Serbs. And, it makes sense for both ethnic groups to man the border.
metrod

Yes, but for how long. Albanians have done everything thy can to expell the remaining serbs. Events in 2004 says it all. During time of peace albanians tried to kill or expell all serbs and destroy their property. It will happen again unless serbs get their freedom.

LOL I see roberto is back masturbating though his keyboard over something completely off topic. Hey buddy, why so verbose now and why so silent when a bunch of Albanians desecrated some Jewish graves in "Kosova"? What a poseur this guy is!
(Balkan Anthropologist, 4 December 2011 17:26)

How attentive you are for every single act of every single Albanian. I wonder where was you people when a Serbian (Milosevic) regime with one of strongest military in the region attack an entire province and it’s civil population. I imagine you are one of them that still believe that was NATO attack that makes more than 1 million Albanian to evacuate from Kosova. If you believe this you are so naïve that nothing intelligent can be waited from you, or you are a incurably racist that exaggerate every single act of the others and don’t see the monstrous Regime that Milosevic based on the mentality of people like you has created.

It means that Serbian border police and officials will now be manning the administrative border between Serbia and Kosmet as well as its international borders with Crna Gora, Macedonia and Albania with the Pristina people there as observers. As far as I can read it, thats what Resolution 1244 says.
(Niall O'Doherty, 3 December 2011 18:48)

Sorry Niall, but that is not at all what this article (or the agreement says). This agreement applies only to the two crossings between Kosovo and Serbia. The Serbian negotiator clearly stated that these two crossings will have special treatment (with Serbian police/customs presence), since Eulex does not administrate the other border crossings. Yes, there will be Serbian border guards/customs/police in Kosovo, but only the first 100 meters or so.

(dori tirana, 5 December 2011 09:58)

LOL what's the point of your pointless post? Why are you only able to bring up crap from more than 10 years ago and avoid stuff happening by your people NOW? Remember, Albanians are supposed to be the civilized people in the Balkans according to your nationalism. Serbs? Well they're barely human so we can expect this barbarity from them. But what explains this lack of civility from one of the oldest people in the Balkans? :)

Not my fault you people are acting like, well, a bunch of "Serbs" since 1999 :)

KPS reduced to ''observer status'' with no fake state symbols and MUP allowed into Kosmet. Ha Ha! FAIL! The first concrete manifestation of 1244 we have seen so far! One small step for Serbs, one giant leap for Serbdom. A precedent is set, so we are a step closer to canceling the Kumanovo agreement and bringing back MUP and VS to liberate Serb holy land.

EA

At all bordercrossings there will be serb and albanian border gueards. Why is that if Kosovo is independent?
(Tom Tom, 3 December 2011 14:54)

Sorry Tom Tom, you must be more clear with your comment ,bc, it makes no sense when you addressed EA.
I will try to explain to you the way it works, as follows: " On the side of Kosova border checkpoint, there will be K-Albanian and K-Serbian working hand in hand and wearing Kosova border police uniform, and on Serbian side who cares who is there. Check Merdare border checkpoint, so you get an idea how it works?"
IS IT CLEAR TO YOU NOW?

BIG BIG DAY FOR KOSOVA now Be a men Borislav Stefanović tell serbs the truth tell them Mitrovica is Part of Kosova and you agree to have Border between Kosova and Serbia tell those criminalse in Mitrovica leave roadblocks and leave Kosova soon as possibele.

BIG BIG DAY FOR KOSOVA now Be a men Borislav Stefanović tell serbs the truth tell them Mitrovica is Part of Kosova and you agree to have Border between Kosova and Serbia tell those criminalse in Mitrovica leave roadblocks and leave Kosova soon as possibele.

What a waste of time are the Serbian polititian!

Does this mean that Pristina can now send their Customs Officials at the border? Since the roads are blocked, has Pristina now a legitimized right to remove the barricades and respond with force if the Serbs resist? If this should happen, how can the Belgrade say something against? They have agreed to have Pristina Customs Officials there.

EA

At all bordercrossings there will be serb and albanian border gueards. Why is that if Kosovo is independent?

This agreement means nothing until the Serbs on the ground at the barricades agree to it, they are the ones fighting for freedom here.

"At all bordercrossings there will be serb and albanian border gueards. Why is that if Kosovo is independent? "

It's called Integrated Border Management, Kosova has the same exact deal with Crna Gora, Albania and Macedonia. This means that Serbia recognized the border, no matter what they say.

"IS IT CLEAR TO YOU NOW?"

Agim Kelmendi


Perhaps if your english was better we'd understand. After your explanations it's even more confusing.

She also stressed that the talks would not continue on Saturday.

“We are going back to Priština tomorrow morning,” Tahiri said.

Tahiri was honest and told the truth last night and wish I can say the same for Borko. I wonder what prompted Borko to speak the truth today!?

-“The concept of integrated management of crossings will be gradually implemented in practice as soon as possible,” it is added in the announcement.-

The whole topic of balkan borders is of great personal interest to me, since every time i visit (and no doubt next March as well)there is more border drama for us than you can shake a stick at. all retro ww2 drama, sort of like the quality of my long distance us-kosova phone line. this is exaggerated by the fact that we, my albanian frnd and myself, cross together.

i shiver, literally, to recall all of the times we've been turned away at the border by those "nice" serbian border guards, simply bc they are "administrative" crossings (oh, pls!) such bs.

the first time was near midnight, in dec. we actually had to get out of the bus, both tickets fully paid for, by me, of course, and walk! back to kosova. it was so bizarre but we could get no help from all of our "frnds" in high-ish places, so back we strolled, to the safety of the UN. but not, of course, before i told those nice serbian guards exactly what i thought of them. unfortunately in english. but some caught my drift. "where does he think he is, in america?!" one of them bellowed to my frnd, in serbo-croatian. whatever. that night we near froze in my fnd's uncle's unheated 2nd floor flat.

the next time we THought we had it right, but again i was turned back, at another crossing. this time the one border guard seemed a bit more sympathetic, but orders from belgrade... we had to walk back to unmik, who were generally understanding until i reached the (german) officer in command. he was a nasty piece, and quickly threatened to "detain" me if we didn't get the hell... my frnd, much more diplomatic than myself, rushed us onto the nearby bus, and i yellled for 5 minutes str8t, thereby endlessly entertaining the little girl in front of us, dressed in rags... probably roma,going into mitrovica.

then last time, en route to presheva, we thought we'd be smart and go thru macedonia, skopje... again, NOT! our frnds warned my pal not to even try it, so we had to separate, and meet later. it was awkward and crazy, but eventually we made it.

the point is, though the stories are fun to retell, and my frnds here just roll their eyes (the balkans...), it is so inconvenient and wasteful of time and money, BOth of which are in short supply. not to mention my not always mellow temper :()

But in the larger picture, all of it, all the border drama is such silliness, something that the normal western euro countries finally figured out. i mean the euro union is going thru great stress, no one knows how it will emerge -- but they ain't going back to ww2 borders, that's for sure. that's strictly for hollywood, and of course, the balkans.

and the real stories, of desperate economic str8ts, of human desperation, mafia ueber alles, none of that is ever talked about, just all of this endless ethnic crap, ancient animosities, recent animosities, blockades, daytonize the whole damn thing, bla bla bla. as if we have all learned nothing. the negotiations in brussels continue in starts and fits, and the blg regime sits at the table ONLY to make happy the euro powers. on their own they do nothing but threaten, lie and make trouble for their neighbors.

speaking of which, i am so glad that their agit-prop machine is finally dealing with the horrible war crimes of the 90s... oh, they're not? but some of us are writing about it, nearly every day, and yet poof! as if by magic, all unhappy stories of the past are gone, invisible, just the "freedom fighters" at the barricades, and the blgd regime with their wretched pronouncements. same ole commie-ville double speak crap.

as we have written so many times, there can be no real progress until the truth of the past is dealt with. there are victims on all sides of the ethnic divide, we have always said that, and the crimes must be adjudicated, not hidden away. blgd's "cooperation" with the hague, minimal and tense as it always was, merely skims the surface. so they finally stopped harboring mass murderers karadzic and mladic. big f---ing deal. they should have done so at LEAST 10 years before. the delays are digusting. meanwhile 1,000s of war criminals continue to be harbored by belgrade and banja luka. this is always acnowledged by the human rights intellectual dissidents, but how would anyone here know -- those grt men and women are utterly marginalized by the um democratic media here. as if they didn't EXIST! luckily for humanity they do, but you'd never know it here.

the truth is over 1,000 ethnic albanians, and 100s of non-albanians remain missing from all the "fun" of the 90s. most of the alb bodies will never be found
the blgd regime(s) have continued to cover up these horrors, these atrocities, and refuse to exhume any more mass graves -- the recent exhumation of the drina riverbed was completely begun by accident, and by the insistence of bosnian officials, and then mainly by bosnian volunteers. it is a story, a book in its own right, and we have written about it, but here in denial-land there was barely a word, par usual. shame!!

so, until these ugly and sordid matters come to light, and the blgd regime takes responsibility for the past AND the cover-ups, there will never be peace. nor justice. just a short pause between wars. is that the best you can do for yr children?!

ciao. roberto frisco

I guess the devil is in the details. I am sure Borko is spinning it as positively as possible. Nevertheless, let's hope this is a step in the right direction. Sounds like the Serbs got some decent "guarantees", whether germany sticks to them is another matter. i feel we have gone as far as we can go with the barricades, and this is the right time for us to cut a deal. We have made our point! Kosovo will not succeed without Serbia and we have the strongest historical and political claims to it.

Does this mean that Pristina can now send their Customs Officials at the border? Since the roads are blocked, has Pristina now a legitimized right to remove the barricades and respond with force if the Serbs resist? If this should happen, how can the Belgrade say something against? They have agreed to have Pristina Customs Officials there.
(Fez, 3 December 2011 14:25)

Customs officials have been at the crossings since 1999, my friend, to collect customs taxes as mandated by UNMIK regulation no 3 of 1999. The point of the agreement is how to make the customs processing more efficient so that the individual and commercial traffic can complete the customs processing at the crossings as fast as possible.

The collection of customs taxes for goods destined to Kosovo was not up for discussion, and could not be up for discussion. That's already been decided by UNMIK and is the law.

“After three days of marathon talks we finally reached an agreement on the integrated control of the crossings. Both parties have agreed to implement a European model at all six crossings,”

This is great for both people and goods moving from Serbia to Kosovo and viceversa as it will significantly reduce the time they have to spent for the customs processing at the crossings.

If I believe what Stefanovic is saying it means "we are not sure how much coffee and buscuits with be available for Kosovo customers observing what Serbian police and EULEX will be doing. I would love to see the original agreement if there is one from EU office. There still will be a frozen conflict until Serbia is made to recognise Kosovo independence. Serbia will complain about how the Kosovo "are implementing the agreement". Serbia will say "who cares we got candidate status for EU".

Does this mean that Pristina can now send their Customs Officials at the border? Since the roads are blocked, has Pristina now a legitimized right to remove the barricades and respond with force if the Serbs resist? If this should happen, how can the Belgrade say something against? They have agreed to have Pristina Customs Officials there.
(Fez, 3 December 2011 14:25)

It means that Serbian border police and officials will now be manning the administrative border between Serbia and Kosmet as well as its international borders with Crna Gora, Macedonia and Albania with the Pristina people there as observers. As far as I can read it, thats what Resolution 1244 says.

Not enough details. Both sides can twist this how ever they want until the details of a final agreement are made public. I doubt that Prishtina would agree to be observers while Belgrade and EULEX handles the crossings. I also doubt that Serbia would agree to Kosovan state symbols. At the same time the Kosovars would not accept Serbian state symbols without Kosovan state symbols. Details! No one should claim to have won without the DETAILS made public.

You are the man Borko !!
This is all according to res 1244 which by all states:

Annex 2:6
"After withdrawal, an agreed number of Yugoslav and Serbian personnel will be permitted to return to perform the following functions:

Liaison with the international civil mission and the international security presence;
Marking/clearing minefields;
Maintaining a presence at Serb patrimonial sites;
Maintaining a presence at key border crossings."

You are the man Borko !!
This is all according to res 1244 which by all states:

Annex 2:6
"After withdrawal, an agreed number of Yugoslav and Serbian personnel will be permitted to return to perform the following functions:

Liaison with the international civil mission and the international security presence;
Marking/clearing minefields;
Maintaining a presence at Serb patrimonial sites;
Maintaining a presence at key border crossings."
(Staff, 3 December 2011 15:46)

Absolutely, everything is in line with 1244... at the crossing there will be a single office for customs processing with both Kosovo and Serbia personel, similarly to what happens in other countries which have an integrated border management for more efficient processing of the the traffic.

"As a special success in the agreement, Stefanović noted that Serbia's police and financial officers would return to Kosovo and their exercise their functions, which is in accordance with Resolution 1244."

I really could not believe Serbia was able to do this, but this is also a great victory for prsetving Serbia's sovereignty over Kosovo! Serbian Police are returning to Kosovo. Im sure their not going to Albanian areas, but they will be in the Serbian North and Serbian Enclaves south of the Ibar. This is a huge victory for Serbia.

This is a major succes for Serbia! Priština has not put any state symbols on the Administrative Crossings, EULEX is the force that is going to be in charge at the crossings along with Serbia while Kosovo Albanians remain Observers, and Serbians can enter Kosovo with their Serbian License Plates that say the towns of Kosovo. Major Success! The Administrative Line remains only a Provincial Boundary! To be honest I did not expect Serbia to get so much out of this agreement!

"I really could not believe Serbia was able to do this, but this is also a great victory for prsetving Serbia's sovereignty over Kosovo! Serbian Police are returning to Kosovo. Im sure their not going to Albanian areas, but they will be in the Serbian North and Serbian Enclaves south of the Ibar. This is a huge victory for Serbia.
(Anonymous, 3 December 2011 17:09)

Just a small correction. Serbia's police and customs are not returning to Kosovo, but at crossing points between Kosovo and Serbia, in case they are not already in there. Even now traffic from Kosovo to Serbia is checked by Serbia's police and customs at the crossings.

In the future, at each crossing, instead of having two checkpoints as it now, there will be one only with Serbia and Kosovo police and customs working in the same office to make border processing more efficient. Eulex will be present, as well.

This is of course a great agreement which will significantly reduce the time that people have to spend at the crossings.

- Tommie, that's because Kosovo is home to both Albanians and Serbs. And, it makes sense for both ethnic groups to man the border.
metrod

Yes, but for how long. Albanians have done everything thy can to expell the remaining serbs. Events in 2004 says it all. During time of peace albanians tried to kill or expell all serbs and destroy their property. It will happen again unless serbs get their freedom.

The Fourth Plan to Solve the Crisis of North Kosovo:
http://www.sp.sdu.edu.cn/narci/works/a029.htm

Roberto-the ultimate in selective memory and myopia. Really made my morning. Thanks. And if you were in Frisco, you're up at 3am on a Sunday night/Monday morning.

LOL I see roberto is back masturbating though his keyboard over something completely off topic. Hey buddy, why so verbose now and why so silent when a bunch of Albanians desecrated some Jewish graves in "Kosova"? What a poseur this guy is!
(Balkan Anthropologist, 4 December 2011 17:26)

How attentive you are for every single act of every single Albanian. I wonder where was you people when a Serbian (Milosevic) regime with one of strongest military in the region attack an entire province and it’s civil population. I imagine you are one of them that still believe that was NATO attack that makes more than 1 million Albanian to evacuate from Kosova. If you believe this you are so naïve that nothing intelligent can be waited from you, or you are a incurably racist that exaggerate every single act of the others and don’t see the monstrous Regime that Milosevic based on the mentality of people like you has created.

How can we be sure that EULEX will follow it's mandate since in many occasions they sided to the separatists in Pristina. Eulex has the executive power while pristina is the observer. hmmmm

I am from New Zealand and accidentally I found this B92.com site. Serbia recognized the border weather is managed by Serbs or Kfor does not matter the argument is that Serbia accepted that there is a border between Kosovo and Serbia!!! That benefits the Albanians.

Two question only. What is an observer and whad does he do ??

In my opinion Stefanovic just made up this word. I mean if Kosovo officials will act as ''observers'' then serbian officials will act the same way.

Reamamber that Serbia is in a hurry to have agreements and not Kosovo. I don't think the Kosovo side would lower them self with Serbia. Everything and every deal is on equal basis. If Serbia gets and apple then Kosovo get's an apple. Serbs should not be fooled that by Stefanovic statment Serbia get's two apples.

bravo to the Serbs and Albanians,the losers are the criminals of both sides.

Of course... Kosovo Police and Customs employees of Serb ethnicity were never excluded from serving at Kosovo's international borders with Crna Gora, Macedonia, Albania or Serbia.

Only Serbs tried to come up with some weird racist ideas about selecting employees for certain crossings based on their ethnicity !
(icj1, 4 December 2011 01:31)

Another Albanian with selective memory. You do know that Serbia is a multiethnic state and there are many non Serbs who serve in Serbia's armed forces, police, judiciary, customs etc. What I meant is for Serbia's border police and customs officers to patrol the border posts between Serbia and Albania wearing Republic of Serbia uniforms as stipulated in UN Resolution 1244.

However as Mike said, I'm prepared to wait until the full details are announced before I make my judgement. Until then, we shall wait.

Roberto from Frisco, please give it a rest. You are on here with no intention but to provoke. I feel very sorry for you, a sad and bitter man. You are stuck to the past with no intention of coming out. Whatever is the cause of your bitterness, I think its time you overcame that or if not I recommend that you see your psychiatrist or doctor.

LOL I see roberto is back masturbating though his keyboard over something completely off topic. Hey buddy, why so verbose now and why so silent when a bunch of Albanians desecrated some Jewish graves in "Kosova"? What a poseur this guy is!

This is better for Serbia than I first thought, even though its not perfect.
I have seen the signed document as you can see below.

" Agreed Conclusions
1. In line with the Lisbon Treaty, and relevant EU legislation (fn2) and given that both parties are part of the EU's Western Balkans agenda, they will be required gradually to harmonise their legislation with the EU acquis and in particular to apply the concept of IBM;
2. In the interest of faster and more effective processing, the parties, under the overall guidance of the EU, will apply the concept of IBM;
3. The parties intend gradually to set up joint integrated posts at all their common IBM crossing points. This cooperation will follow the best European practice as it is progressively further developed by the European Commission. The work will be given a high priority; the projects will be identified jointly and will be implemented as soon as practically possible;
4. The joint, integrated, single and secure posts will be located within a 'common area of IBM crossing points', jointly delineated, where officials of each party carry out relevant controls. Exceptionally, and limited to the common IBM areas, the parties will not display symbols of their respective jurisdictions ;
5. The arrangements will include a balanced presence, in line with requirements, from both parties of all related services such as customs, police etc. and will cover matters such as the location of the crossing points, the nature of the facility, opening hours etc. In line with its mandate (fn3) at the crossing points Jarinjë/Rudnice and Tabavije/Bërnjak, this presence will include EULEX officials. EULEX will also be present at crossing points Dheu i Bardhë/Konqul, Merdare/Merdarë, Mutivodë/Mutivode and Depce/Muçibabë;
6. At the core of the arrangement there will be a clear assignment of applicable legal responsibilities and liabilities to each party's jurisdiction;
7. A tri-partite implementation group, chaired by the EU, will be established to implement above arrangement as soon as practically possible. For that purpose, a technical Protocol will be developed and signed, if necessary separately with the EU, which will take account of the parties' different views on the question of status. The implications of these conclusions will be taken into account in implementing freedom of movement;
8. This agreement does not cover any general or specific revenue or fiscal matters;
fn 1 One party recognises the line as a border; the other party recognises the line as an administrative boundary.
fn 2 As defined especially in the Schengen Borders Code, Frontex Regulation, Local Border Traffic Regulation, VIS Regulation and Community Code on Visas;
fn 3 As defined by Council Joint Action 2008/124 CEFSP, Article 3, Section a;"

As you notice, nothing has gone forward for the K Albanian side. Nothing.
I would like you to pay special notice to the 4th paragraph where it says:
"...crossing points', jointly delineated, where officials of each party carry out relevant controls."
It says CROSSING POINTS and DELINEATED. Very important for Serbia !

Also, I would like to point at the eight paragraph. This may be the most important paragraph for Serbia the last 10 years. It says:
"This agreement does not cover any general or specific revenue or fiscal matters"
I dont think I have to expain this.
Again, big congratulations to Serbia, Stefanovic from the vast majority of the whole world !!

PS. I agree to take down the barricades. But make no mistake, be prepared on 20-30 places (maybe even more places), to put up again with extremely short notice. Stay safe.

Avni your comment makes no sense at all. What does Bosnia-Herzegovina have to do with the negotiations that are ongoing between Belgrade and Pristina.

It means that Serbian border police and officials will now be manning the administrative border between Serbia and Kosmet as well as its international borders with Crna Gora, Macedonia and Albania
(Niall O'Doherty, 3 December 2011 18:48)

Of course... Kosovo Police and Customs employees of Serb ethnicity were never excluded from serving at Kosovo's international borders with Crna Gora, Macedonia, Albania or Serbia.

Only Serbs tried to come up with some weird racist ideas about selecting employees for certain crossings based on their ethnicity !

Agreed. If there's one thing I've learned about Kosovo, it's what whatever is agreed upon is rarely, if ever, directly implemented. While it appears that the two crossings in northern Kosovo are more Belgrade-EULEX controlled, it remains to be seen how the other crossing points (Rudare, Medare, et al) will be managed and whether symbols will be displayed as well. It's one thing if we see something applied across the board. If there's "special status" for the two crossings into northern Kosovo, it looks like Belgrade is geering up for some sort of regional partition. I'll hold off on cheering or jeering until I see the details too because right now it seems almost too good for Belgrade's advantage.
(Mike, 3 December 2011 22:06)

Mike, I think you nailed it there. Kosovo is going to be partioned one way or the other and the details from what I have got so far are good for Belgrade. The K-Serb hothead leadership before reacting in haste should await the full details and sit down to discuss with President Tadic and KFOR. I hope there will be no more violence. As a K-Albanian, I hope that this will finally be the beginning of final agreement and reconciliation between Serbs and Albanians. I have many Serb and non Serb friends here in Novi Sad and I believe it is about time we put the past behind us and begin to live our lives again.

This agreement means nothing until the Serbs on the ground at the barricades agree to it, they are the ones fighting for freedom here.
(SCP UK, 3 December 2011 15:57)

You understood it well my friend. They are at the barricades and not at the crossings :) and there are secondary roads that bypass the barricades.

"EA

At all bordercrossings there will be serb and albanian border gueards. Why is that if Kosovo is independent?
Tom Tom"

- Tommie, that's because Kosovo is home to both Albanians and Serbs. And, it makes sense for both ethnic groups to man the border.

Time for peace has come. Serbia can now take RS as far as I'm concerned.

@Bahri

Your comment makes no sense. Serbia most definately does not recognize that there is an international border between Central Serbia and Kosovo. Serbia does however recognize that their is an Administrative Provincial Boundary and that it needs to be regulated accordingly. This agreement envisages Serbia and EULEX controlling the Administrative Line while the KPS just sits there as observers so I dont see how you can compare that to the borders "Kosovo" shares with Montenegro, Albania, and Macedonia. The Administrative Line also under the agreement will have none of "Kosovo's" "State Symbols" also showing that it is not an international border. Admit it the Administrative Line between Central Serbia and Kosovo remains Administrative! Nothing more, Nothig less! By the way anytime you are leaving Kosovo there is a big sign right before you cross the Administrative Provincial Boundary that clearly indicates it is not an International Border and that Kosovo is a Province! Just look at the link below! Look I completely understand that Albanians do not want to be ruled by Serbia but no one in Serbia is looking to rule you! Serbia wants to keep its cultural and historical heritage in Kosovo Serbian, preserve its state institutions in all of the Serbian Enclaves in Kosovo both North and South of the Ibar, and maintain its presence in the Province!

http://www.worldwidesmiles.biz/USERIMAGES/Kosovo%202004%20390.jpg

How can we be sure that EULEX will follow it's mandate since in many occasions they sided to the separatists in Pristina. Eulex has the executive power while pristina is the observer. hmmmm
(PRO-SERBIA, 4 December 2011 07:36)

Well, Eulex has insisted on the implementation of UNMIK regulation no 3 of 1999 for the collection of customs taxes at the crossings. Just because Pristina insists on the same (because UNMIK regulations are the law) it does not mean that Eulex is siding with Pristina. Eulex is siding with the Law and it has to.

Again, big congratulations to Serbia, Stefanovic from the vast majority of the whole world !!
(Staff, 3 December 2011 22:54)

Of course, big congratulations to Serbia for finally coming to its senses and understand that customs have nothing to do with recognition. It's just about making people's life easier.

Btw, I did not know that the vast majority of the world was composed by Staff. I thought there were some 190+ countries in the world. We learn everyday some new stuff about geography at this site.
----------

PS. I agree to take down the barricades. But make no mistake, be prepared on 20-30 places (maybe even more places), to put up again with extremely short notice. Stay safe.
(Staff, 3 December 2011 22:54)

Why remove them; they can stay there - who cares. If some people like to play with logs on the roads, why interrupt their entertainment ?!

Thank you Stefanovic for recognizing Kosovo!
You´re welcome to Prishtina to celebrate.

I read now many sources and they say the complete opposite of what Borko claims. Actually, Serbia finally recognized Kosovo's borders. The border posts are manned by both sides and EULEX will observe that implementation. There is no mentioning of any border post to Macedonia, Albania or Montenegro, but only the six bordering North Kosovo with Serbia which will have now Albanian custom officers.

Don't know why some right wing Serbs call this is a success for them, but let them be.

Good job, Prishtina. You got everything what you wanted starting with the 25th July.

Cheers!

"Not enough details. Both sides can twist this how ever they want until the details of a final agreement are made public." (Valon)

-- That seems to be the gist of it. There's some sort of "checkpoints", making Albanians happy, but these checkpoints are jointly controlled - meaning one unit rather than one on each side of the "border" - thus making Serbs happy. No state symbols, so people can interpret what they like. From the looks of things right now, Belgrade achieved a considerable victory in getting this far.

"Details! No one should claim to have won without the DETAILS made public."

-- Agreed. If there's one thing I've learned about Kosovo, it's what whatever is agreed upon is rarely, if ever, directly implemented. While it appears that the two crossings in northern Kosovo are more Belgrade-EULEX controlled, it remains to be seen how the other crossing points (Rudare, Medare, et al) will be managed and whether symbols will be displayed as well. It's one thing if we see something applied across the board. If there's "special status" for the two crossings into northern Kosovo, it looks like Belgrade is geering up for some sort of regional partition. I'll hold off on cheering or jeering until I see the details too because right now it seems almost too good for Belgrade's advantage.

Pretty much north Kosovo needs to decide do they align themselves with Pristina which says that customs agents will return to the checkpoint, or do they align themselves with Belgrade which says customs agents will return to checkpoints.

It means that Serbian border police and officials will now be manning the administrative border between Serbia and Kosmet as well as its international borders with Crna Gora, Macedonia and Albania with the Pristina people there as observers. As far as I can read it, thats what Resolution 1244 says.
(Niall O'Doherty, 3 December 2011 18:48)

It means that Serbian border police and officials will now be manning the border between Northern Ireland and UK, as well as between Mexico and USA. You agree with that body?

I keep asking this same question over and over. Why does B92 give any oxygen to Roberto?
His posts are nothing but vile spew aimed at discrediting Serbia and all Serbs. Imagine he even complains about 100s of thousands of non Albanians missing and blames that on the Serbs too. We all know that all non Albanians are victims of Albanians and yet he chalks that up to the Serbs as well.

Sometimes I don't even feel like coming on this site because I know I am likely to encounter Roberto.
Maybe that's what B92 is trying to accomplish. Get enough Serbs to feel like they are coming onto an Albanian site and perhaps many will abandon it.
Who knows, but I know I am not only talking for myself. What do the rest of the Serbs think? Do they feel sick to the stomach when they see his post?

(dori tirana, 5 December 2011 09:58)

LOL what's the point of your pointless post? Why are you only able to bring up crap from more than 10 years ago and avoid stuff happening by your people NOW? Remember, Albanians are supposed to be the civilized people in the Balkans according to your nationalism. Serbs? Well they're barely human so we can expect this barbarity from them. But what explains this lack of civility from one of the oldest people in the Balkans? :)

Not my fault you people are acting like, well, a bunch of "Serbs" since 1999 :)

"IS IT CLEAR TO YOU NOW?"

Agim Kelmendi


Perhaps if your english was better we'd understand. After your explanations it's even more confusing.
(MikeC, 3 December 2011 19:15)

If my English was so bad, why would you respond to a comment that you do not understand???

It means that Serbian border police and officials will now be manning the administrative border between Serbia and Kosmet as well as its international borders with Crna Gora, Macedonia and Albania with the Pristina people there as observers. As far as I can read it, thats what Resolution 1244 says.
(Niall O'Doherty, 3 December 2011 18:48)

Sorry Niall, but that is not at all what this article (or the agreement says). This agreement applies only to the two crossings between Kosovo and Serbia. The Serbian negotiator clearly stated that these two crossings will have special treatment (with Serbian police/customs presence), since Eulex does not administrate the other border crossings. Yes, there will be Serbian border guards/customs/police in Kosovo, but only the first 100 meters or so.

Was it not reported a couple of weeks ago that Tahiri was saying that "integrated" customs agents at borders was an European concept and Pristina supported it, and Stefanovic said that Serbia cannot accept any proposal with Albanian custom agents at the checkpoints. Now it is a Serbian idea??