Đelić: Not too late for compromise

It is not too late to find a compromise solution for Kosovo via negotiations under UN auspices, says Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic. During a lecture at John Hopkins University in Washington, he stated that the coming elections in Serbia presented the biggest challenge since the fall of Slobodan Milosevic, and also had wider regional implications, reports Voice of America (VOA). Djelic: Not too late for compromise Djelic said that the Washington administration’s one-sided and unbalanced policy was chiefly responsible for Kosovo’s unilateral independence, which Belgrade would never accept, and that numerous European states had been forced to recognize Pristina’s unilateral declaration under U.S. pressure. He stressed that Serbia found itself on the divide between the strategic interests of EU membership and the fact that Serbia’s views on its sovereignty and territorial integrity differed from those of some of the Union’s leading members, added VOA. The deputy prime minister said that in the event of the pro-Western bloc of parties taking power after the May parliamentary elections, he expected "a balanced policy based on facts from Washington, because that is the only way for the U.S. to lead the world,” said Djelic. As far as Kosovo was concerned, Djelic said that he believed that pressure on Belgrade and Pristina in equal measures would lead to a solution that, unlike the current one opposed by Belgrade, would not lead to the economic and social isolation of Kosovo’s citizens. He also reiterated his readiness to sign the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU on behalf of the government by the end of May, and said that “the pencil is in his bag”, though he remained doubtful that Holland would abandon its policy of demanding the extradition of Ratko Mladic to the Hague Tribunal as the main condition for signing the agreement. “Our goal is to become an EU member between 2012 and 2014. Given that we still haven’t signed the SAA, that might sound a bit over-ambitious, but I am convinced it is feasible,” said Djelic. On the subject of Ramush Haradinaj’s recent acquittal at the Hague Tribunal, the deputy prime minister said that such a decision compromised the integrity of the international judiciary. “No one can convince us that that decision was honest and free,” he said, but added that that did not mean that Serbia would in future ignore its own international obligations. As far as the economic situation in Serbia was concerned, Djelic said he was optimistic and expected continued economic growth, controlled inflation and opportunities for new investors. Bozidar Djelic (B92, archive)

Đelić: Not too late for compromise

Đelić said that the Washington administration’s one-sided and unbalanced policy was chiefly responsible for Kosovo’s unilateral independence, which Belgrade would never accept, and that numerous European states had been forced to recognize Priština’s unilateral declaration under U.S. pressure.

He stressed that Serbia found itself on the divide between the strategic interests of EU membership and the fact that Serbia’s views on its sovereignty and territorial integrity differed from those of some of the Union’s leading members, added VOA.

The deputy prime minister said that in the event of the pro-Western bloc of parties taking power after the May parliamentary elections, he expected "a balanced policy based on facts from Washington, because that is the only way for the U.S. to lead the world,” said Đelić.

As far as Kosovo was concerned, Đelić said that he believed that pressure on Belgrade and Priština in equal measures would lead to a solution that, unlike the current one opposed by Belgrade, would not lead to the economic and social isolation of Kosovo’s citizens.

He also reiterated his readiness to sign the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU on behalf of the government by the end of May, and said that “the pencil is in his bag”, though he remained doubtful that Holland would abandon its policy of demanding the extradition of Ratko Mladić to the Hague Tribunal as the main condition for signing the agreement.

“Our goal is to become an EU member between 2012 and 2014. Given that we still haven’t signed the SAA, that might sound a bit over-ambitious, but I am convinced it is feasible,” said Đelić.

On the subject of Ramush Haradinaj’s recent acquittal at the Hague Tribunal, the deputy prime minister said that such a decision compromised the integrity of the international judiciary.

“No one can convince us that that decision was honest and free,” he said, but added that that did not mean that Serbia would in future ignore its own international obligations.

As far as the economic situation in Serbia was concerned, Đelić said he was optimistic and expected continued economic growth, controlled inflation and opportunities for new investors.