Belgrade, Priština must discuss status, minister says

Belgrade and Pristina must discuss Kosovo status because both Serbs and Albanians are burdened by the issue, said Serbia's Minister for Kosovo Goran Bogdanovic. "The talks are not treason or recognition of Kosovo,"he said, adding that status needed to be on the agenda in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, and that it was good that there were "different opinions" on this topic. Belgrade, Pristina must discuss status, minister says “All problems faced by Serbs and Albanians are burdened by the status, and we cannot easily solve the problem of electricity, telecommunications and freedom of movement without tackling this issue,” Bogdanovic told TV Most, published on the channel's website on Sunday. "We have a strategy and a platform, we adhere to the Constitution and parliamentary resolutions on Kosovo, which are binding for us," the minister pointed out. “Now we have a status quo - Kosovo is not independent, but Serbia also does not have a lot of authority in its territory,” he stressed, noting that Pristina obviously did not care about finding solutions and is stalling the talks. "Nobody should be judged for saying that division is the best solution or that the whole province should be kept in Serbia," he said, and reminded that the division idea had been around for more than a century. Talking about freedom of movement in Kosovo, Bogdanovic said that it depended least on Serbs and was the responsibility of Albanians, as the majority people. "In Kosovo, there is a problem of Serbs and Albanians, not of the international community, which will support everything that we can agree on," he explained. Bogdanovic said that the license plate issue had also been discussed, and that Serbia's stance was that no unilateral decisions should be made while dialogue is ongoing. "No one can forbid us from putting new license plates with initials of towns in Kosovo on our cars, and if someone in Pristina wants to confiscate those plates and personal documents in order to create tension and discourage us from fighting to keep Kosovo in Serbia, they will not succeed," the minister said. Bogdanovic announced that the next round of dialogue would focus on missing and kidnapped persons from Kosovo. Goran Bogdanovic (Tanjug, file)

Belgrade, Priština must discuss status, minister says

“All problems faced by Serbs and Albanians are burdened by the status, and we cannot easily solve the problem of electricity, telecommunications and freedom of movement without tackling this issue,” Bogdanović told TV Most, published on the channel's website on Sunday.

"We have a strategy and a platform, we adhere to the Constitution and parliamentary resolutions on Kosovo, which are binding for us," the minister pointed out.

“Now we have a status quo - Kosovo is not independent, but Serbia also does not have a lot of authority in its territory,” he stressed, noting that Priština obviously did not care about finding solutions and is stalling the talks.

"Nobody should be judged for saying that division is the best solution or that the whole province should be kept in Serbia," he said, and reminded that the division idea had been around for more than a century.

Talking about freedom of movement in Kosovo, Bogdanović said that it depended least on Serbs and was the responsibility of Albanians, as the majority people. "In Kosovo, there is a problem of Serbs and Albanians, not of the international community, which will support everything that we can agree on," he explained.

Bogdanović said that the license plate issue had also been discussed, and that Serbia's stance was that no unilateral decisions should be made while dialogue is ongoing.

"No one can forbid us from putting new license plates with initials of towns in Kosovo on our cars, and if someone in Priština wants to confiscate those plates and personal documents in order to create tension and discourage us from fighting to keep Kosovo in Serbia, they will not succeed," the minister said.

Bogdanović announced that the next round of dialogue would focus on missing and kidnapped persons from Kosovo.