“No Kosovo deal for another 5, 6 years”

A Kosovo Serb official doubts any agreement between Serbs and Albanians will be reached for another 5 to 6 years. State Secretary in the Kosovo Ministry Oliver Ivanovic, G17 Plus, said that this would only happen with the emergence of new political elites in both Serbia and Kosovo. “No Kosovo deal for another 5, 6 years” In an interview with Belgrade weekly NIN, Ivanovic ruled out any hope of a deal being reached in the next two to three years, stating that there would be no contact between Serbian and Kosovo Prime Ministers Mirko Cvetkovic and Hashim Thaci during the current mandate. "There will be no such contact, at least not official. Quite simply, Cvetkovic, in accordance with his Constitutional powers and obligations, cannot meet with the prime minister of a self-proclaimed country, especially not one on Serbian territory." "So, either Cvetkovic would have to give up on the territorial integrity issue, or Thaci would have to give up on independence, neither of which is likely to happen. It is not possible for the two prime ministers to meet officially under these circumstances,” he explained. The state secretary said that the international community regarded Kosovo’s current status as a transitional phase, a limited form of internal independence, which would be subject to a series of reassessments in decades to come. "Final status can only be reached if the Serbian authorities and Kosovo Albanians reach an agreement. The shape of that agreement will depend on the negotiating elites,” Ivanovic surmised. He said that the Serbian authorities should consider bidding in the tender to construct the Kosovo C thermo power plant, adding that Albania’s plans to participate in the project were laughable. "Even though it would be in Albania’s interest if the thermo power plant was built in Kosovo that could supply Albania or the north of the country with electricity, Albania’s not capable of participating in such a project." "These statements are merely testing the wind to see the reaction of the international community,” Ivanovic said, adding that the construction of the power plant “must not become a political project, but one based on economic profitability.” Oliver Ivanovic (Beta, archive)

“No Kosovo deal for another 5, 6 years”

In an interview with Belgrade weekly NIN, Ivanović ruled out any hope of a deal being reached in the next two to three years, stating that there would be no contact between Serbian and Kosovo Prime Ministers Mirko Cvetković and Hashim Thaci during the current mandate.

"There will be no such contact, at least not official. Quite simply, Cvetković, in accordance with his Constitutional powers and obligations, cannot meet with the prime minister of a self-proclaimed country, especially not one on Serbian territory."

"So, either Cvetković would have to give up on the territorial integrity issue, or Thaci would have to give up on independence, neither of which is likely to happen. It is not possible for the two prime ministers to meet officially under these circumstances,” he explained.

The state secretary said that the international community regarded Kosovo’s current status as a transitional phase, a limited form of internal independence, which would be subject to a series of reassessments in decades to come.

"Final status can only be reached if the Serbian authorities and Kosovo Albanians reach an agreement. The shape of that agreement will depend on the negotiating elites,” Ivanović surmised.

He said that the Serbian authorities should consider bidding in the tender to construct the Kosovo C thermo power plant, adding that Albania’s plans to participate in the project were laughable.

"Even though it would be in Albania’s interest if the thermo power plant was built in Kosovo that could supply Albania or the north of the country with electricity, Albania’s not capable of participating in such a project."

"These statements are merely testing the wind to see the reaction of the international community,” Ivanović said, adding that the construction of the power plant “must not become a political project, but one based on economic profitability.”