Dačić to discuss Kosovo dialogue in Brussels

BELGRADE EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton will on Friday in Brussels meet with heads of the governments in Belgrade and Pristina, Ivica Dacic and Hashim Thaci. In a statement for Tanjug, her cabinet specified that the meetings will be separate. Dacic to discuss Kosovo dialogue in Brussels "The purpose of the meetings is to discussed advancement of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue under the sponsorship of the EU," it was said in Brussels late on Thursday. Despite earlier announcements, the Serbian government is yet to discuss the issue of the resumption of the EU-sponsored Kosovo dialogue, that was originally launched in the spring of 2011. According to reports, the cabinet will discuss this subject once the premier has returned from Brussels. Ahead of his trip, Dacic said that Serbia was "not running away from the talks", that the country wished to see a quick resolution to the problem - but stressed that Belgrade would not verify Kosovo's independence through those negotiations: "We are ready to talk with the representatives of the union, we are ready to talk with the representatives of the interim institutions in Kosovo. The only thing we insist on is that there must be no secret negotiations." The prime minister added that he and the government were facing "a difficult thing and difficult conditions" under which the dialogue would resume, but added that "attempts must be made to resolve the issue, rather than shift the responsibility". "We want status-neutral negotiations, a status-neutral dialogue, and it is out of the question for Serbia to accept the condition that it should accept Kosovo's independence for the sake of joining the EU, or being given a date of entry," Dacic was quoted as saying. Dacic chairs Thursday's session of his cabinet (Tanjug) Beta Tanjug

Dačić to discuss Kosovo dialogue in Brussels

"The purpose of the meetings is to discussed advancement of the Belgrade-Priština dialogue under the sponsorship of the EU," it was said in Brussels late on Thursday.

Despite earlier announcements, the Serbian government is yet to discuss the issue of the resumption of the EU-sponsored Kosovo dialogue, that was originally launched in the spring of 2011.

According to reports, the cabinet will discuss this subject once the premier has returned from Brussels.

Ahead of his trip, Dačić said that Serbia was "not running away from the talks", that the country wished to see a quick resolution to the problem - but stressed that Belgrade would not verify Kosovo's independence through those negotiations:

"We are ready to talk with the representatives of the union, we are ready to talk with the representatives of the interim institutions in Kosovo. The only thing we insist on is that there must be no secret negotiations."

The prime minister added that he and the government were facing "a difficult thing and difficult conditions" under which the dialogue would resume, but added that "attempts must be made to resolve the issue, rather than shift the responsibility".

"We want status-neutral negotiations, a status-neutral dialogue, and it is out of the question for Serbia to accept the condition that it should accept Kosovo's independence for the sake of joining the EU, or being given a date of entry," Dačić was quoted as saying.