Jeremić: Talks have reached stalemate

Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic feels that the Kosovo talks have reached an impasse. Jeremic blamed this on the timeframe restrictions. Jeremic: Talks have reached stalemate He said that December 10, the date when the international mediating Troika is due to submit its report to the UN Secretary-General, should be considered a date for review of progress made up to that point. “Certain key actors in the talks process have said that independence will be imposed if Belgrade and Pristina fail to reach agreement by then, and that’s a very un-European way of doing things, that leads to an outcome that will settle little." "Such an approach only promotes the interests of one side - the Kosovo Albanians,“ said the foreign minister. He said that the only way to avert the crisis that beckoned was to perceive that deadline, December 10, as a time to assess progress, and nothing more. As for a comprehensive solution to the problem, Jeremic told an audience at the Law School of the University of Leiden, all the countries of the Western Balkans should be offered candidate status for membership in the European Union in order for the region to completely put the past behind it. Reconciliation, a clear European perspective for the whole Western Balkans and finding a European solution for Kosovo are the three pre-requisites for securing peace in the region, Jeremic said in his speech. If the entire region were offered immediate candidate status, it would not mean providing a shortcut to membership, but rather a re-shuffling of the accession deck of cards characterized by an enhanced, hands-on engagement with our region. "Today's democratic decisions in our countries are still hostage to a future with no clear European deadline. The way forward lies in harnessing the visionary potential of the European project by offering immediate candidate status to all the countries of the Western Balkans," the Serbian foreign minister said. According to Jeremic, reconciliation is the first pre-requisite for securing peace in the region, and as he emphasized, full cooperation with the Hague tribunal is at the heart of this condition. He added that Serbia understands that full cooperation with the Hague Tribunal is not only an international obligation, but also a moral obligation toward its neighbors and the world, as well as to Serbia itself. Vuk Jeremic (FoNet, archive)

Jeremić: Talks have reached stalemate

He said that December 10, the date when the international mediating Troika is due to submit its report to the UN Secretary-General, should be considered a date for review of progress made up to that point.

“Certain key actors in the talks process have said that independence will be imposed if Belgrade and Priština fail to reach agreement by then, and that’s a very un-European way of doing things, that leads to an outcome that will settle little."

"Such an approach only promotes the interests of one side - the Kosovo Albanians,“ said the foreign minister.

He said that the only way to avert the crisis that beckoned was to perceive that deadline, December 10, as a time to assess progress, and nothing more.

As for a comprehensive solution to the problem, Jeremić told an audience at the Law School of the University of Leiden, all the countries of the Western Balkans should be offered candidate status for membership in the European Union in order for the region to completely put the past behind it.

Reconciliation, a clear European perspective for the whole Western Balkans and finding a European solution for Kosovo are the three pre-requisites for securing peace in the region, Jeremić said in his speech.

If the entire region were offered immediate candidate status, it would not mean providing a shortcut to membership, but rather a re-shuffling of the accession deck of cards characterized by an enhanced, hands-on engagement with our region.

"Today's democratic decisions in our countries are still hostage to a future with no clear European deadline. The way forward lies in harnessing the visionary potential of the European project by offering immediate candidate status to all the countries of the Western Balkans," the Serbian foreign minister said.

According to Jeremić, reconciliation is the first pre-requisite for securing peace in the region, and as he emphasized, full cooperation with the Hague tribunal is at the heart of this condition.

He added that Serbia understands that full cooperation with the Hague Tribunal is not only an international obligation, but also a moral obligation toward its neighbors and the world, as well as to Serbia itself.