Fried meets with Serbian senior officials

Fried meets with Serbian senior officials

Fried told Serbian President Boris Tadić that the US strongly supports Serbia on its path towards Europe and its Euro-Atlantic future, adding that it is necessary for Serbia to complete its cooperation with the Hague Tribunal as soon as possible, according to the president’s cabinet.

Tadić reiterated that Hague cooperation is not only Serbia’s international obligation, but a very important question for the people of Serbia, which must be taken care of in order to complete the nation’s integration into Euro-Atlantic structures.

Serbian Foreign Affairs Minister Vuk Drašković said that he and Fried agreed that a compromise in the Kosovo status solution could be reached more easily if the Kosovo Albanians would come to terms with the stance of the Contact Group that the existing borders of the Serbian state cannot be altered.

Drašković also called for a quick and unconditional acceptance of Serbia into the Partnership for Peace, adding that Serbia and the Serbian people do not deserve to have several fugitives with Hague indictments block all projects for the future.

Fried said that Washington wants Serbia as a strategic partner and a regional leader, which calls for a rooting-out of all ties with the Slobodan Milošević regime and the catastrophic anti-national politics led by Milošević at the time.

Speaking to students at the Political Science University, Fried said that the Kosovo status solution is expected to be reached in the next several months.

“During the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, during the 1990s, Bosnian leaders stated that it is a great tragedy that their future will be determined by foreigners, who could not even pronounce the names of the Bosnian cities, that is how little they cared.” Fried said.

“They realized that nationalism was the reason for that catastrophe. The destiny of Kosovo is in the hands of the Contact Group as well, which is made up of foreign countries, but that is what it is. Whatever happens with Kosovo, the future of Serbia is still in Europe. That future is clear, but it will not be reached if nationalists begin to do what they have done in the past again. I hope and believe that the real Serbian patriots will help Serbia on its road to Europe.” Fried said.