Austrian FM: Nikolić's turn to make appropriate gesture

ZAGREB -- It is a little late for ex-President Boris Tadić’s symbolic meeting with Kosovo PM Hashim Thaci, says Austrian Deputy Chancellor and FM Michael Spindelegger.

Michael Spindelegger (file)

He added that Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić needed to find a gesture that would show that he was aware of the past.

“It is a little too late for a symbolic meeting between Tadić and Thaci but it is good when you bring leaders to the same table so they can agree on the future of their countries,” the Austrian official told Zagreb-based daily Večernji list.

He expressed expectation that Serbia and Kosovo’s relations would be normalized.

When asked whether results of the Serbian elections would affect the region, Spindelegger said that the Serbian citizens had made their decision and that everybody respected it.

“Nikolić has been saying that he advocated the EU process. Us Austrians advocate that all Western Balkan countries become EU members but they need to carry out many reforms. We encourage them to implement them,” he explained.

Commenting on Nikolić’s statement in which he denied genocide, the Austrian official said that “facing the past is sometime painful, but it is necessary”.

“Serbia needs to admit what happened in the past and it is up to the president to find the right way to do it. He needs to find a gesture that will show that he is aware of that,” Spindelegger was quoted as saying.