“Serbia will not trade Kosovo for EU accession”

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said Thursday that Serbia would not trade Kosovo in exchange for EU accession. “Many are linking the latest developments in Serbia's southern province to the forthcoming negotiations with the EU and additional pressures on Serbia in that regard, but our position is clear - there is a red line of state interests that Serbia will certainly not cross,” Dacic said in Belgrade. “Serbia will not trade Kosovo for EU accession” He said Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci had tried to change the situation in the north of Kosovo by force, attempting to do something similar to the 1995 Operation Storm in Croatia. “Serbia does not want to become engaged in a war and is committed to resolving all issues by peaceful means. I am positive, though, that the international community would have readily accepted the new situation had Thaci's action succeeded,” the deputy prime minister stressed. He welcomed the late Wednesday agreement between Serbian officials and KFOR Commander Erhard Buhler on the way to control administrative checkpoints in northern Kosovo and expressed the hope a “final solution” would soon be found. “Reaching agreements is good, but I believe this solution is only a temporary one and I hope a final one will be reached soon,” Dacic pointed out. He said that the Serbian people in Kosovo absolutely had the right to legitimately achieve their rights, just like Albanians, who did not want to live in Serbia, once had. “I just don’t know why the international community has different standards in that respect,” the deputy prime minister concluded. Ivica Dacic

“Serbia will not trade Kosovo for EU accession”

He said Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci had tried to change the situation in the north of Kosovo by force, attempting to do something similar to the 1995 Operation Storm in Croatia.

“Serbia does not want to become engaged in a war and is committed to resolving all issues by peaceful means. I am positive, though, that the international community would have readily accepted the new situation had Thaci's action succeeded,” the deputy prime minister stressed.

He welcomed the late Wednesday agreement between Serbian officials and KFOR Commander Erhard Buhler on the way to control administrative checkpoints in northern Kosovo and expressed the hope a “final solution” would soon be found.

“Reaching agreements is good, but I believe this solution is only a temporary one and I hope a final one will be reached soon,” Dačić pointed out.

He said that the Serbian people in Kosovo absolutely had the right to legitimately achieve their rights, just like Albanians, who did not want to live in Serbia, once had.

“I just don’t know why the international community has different standards in that respect,” the deputy prime minister concluded.