Difficult days in negotiations ahead of Serbia, PM says

NEW YORK Serbian PM Ivica Dacic has said that media reports about his alleged dismissal are harming Belgrade’s negotiating position. He noted that “very difficult days” were ahead of Serbia in the continuation of the negotiations. Difficult days in negotiations ahead of Serbia, PM says The prime minister told Tanjug after the UN Security Council session on Kosovo on Friday that he was ready to offer his position to anyone who could do better than him in the negotiations with Kosovo PM Hashim Thaci. He pointed out that speculations in media that an agreement with Pristina would not suit him because of a possible government reshuffle were “just talk”. “While I was in Brussels, I read online five texts that I was going to be dismissed as prime minister, that there will be a government reshuffle. Are we normal people, are we a normal state, don’t we understand that this way we are only harming our state and national interests,” Dacic wondered. He added that he was wondering “how can someone go and negotiate on behalf of Serbia and that there are reports that they are about to be dismissed”. “Let them have the PM position, whoever can come and talk to Thaci if they can do any better. This is not about Ivica Dacic, this is about Serbia,” the prime minister stressed. Commenting on the continuation of the dialogue with Pristina, he said that “very difficult days” were ahead of Serbia. “Very difficult days are ahead of us because every time these talks are held we go back to the beginning, in more difficult and worse conditions. We do not have anyone to rely on in the talks. We have no one to consult, ask for a favor. Serbia is geo-strategically speaking in a very unfavorable position,” Dacic said. He explained that Serbia’s friend in the East did not have much influence on events in the EU. “We have almost no powerful friends in the West and this is a consequence of what has been happening in the last several decades,” the prime minister pointed out. According to him, the talks in Brussels need to continue and a serious step toward a compromise needs to be made. “The differences are the same as before, in the level of power that the community of Serb municipalities should have. I hope everyone is aware that Serbia wants to make a step forward and that it wants the dialogue to work but on the other had we need to have a proposal that could adequately solve the issue of parallelism of institution and to be acceptable for Serbs living in Kosovo and Metohija,” the Serbian PM pointed out. He said that it was necessary to do a “comprehensive analysis” in Belgrade and to see what the consequences of the decisions were. “Everybody is aware that Serbia will be the one to blame if the agreement is not reached,” Dacic said, adding that if no deal was reached, “it will mean the end of a chance to get a date for the start of the EU accession talks this year”. “Then again, we cannot accept something that is not possible, because the level of powers given to the Serb municipalities is almost nonexistent. It takes a lot of political will and courage to make a step forward. Serbia’s top officials should have a united stance on what should be done next,” the prime minister concluded. Ivica Dacic (Beta, file) Tanjug

Difficult days in negotiations ahead of Serbia, PM says

The prime minister told Tanjug after the UN Security Council session on Kosovo on Friday that he was ready to offer his position to anyone who could do better than him in the negotiations with Kosovo PM Hashim Thaci.

He pointed out that speculations in media that an agreement with Priština would not suit him because of a possible government reshuffle were “just talk”.

“While I was in Brussels, I read online five texts that I was going to be dismissed as prime minister, that there will be a government reshuffle. Are we normal people, are we a normal state, don’t we understand that this way we are only harming our state and national interests,” Dačić wondered.

He added that he was wondering “how can someone go and negotiate on behalf of Serbia and that there are reports that they are about to be dismissed”.
“Let them have the PM position, whoever can come and talk to Thaci if they can do any better. This is not about Ivica Dačić, this is about Serbia,” the prime minister stressed.

Commenting on the continuation of the dialogue with Priština, he said that “very difficult days” were ahead of Serbia.

“Very difficult days are ahead of us because every time these talks are held we go back to the beginning, in more difficult and worse conditions. We do not have anyone to rely on in the talks. We have no one to consult, ask for a favor. Serbia is geo-strategically speaking in a very unfavorable position,” Dačić said.

He explained that Serbia’s friend in the East did not have much influence on events in the EU.

“We have almost no powerful friends in the West and this is a consequence of what has been happening in the last several decades,” the prime minister pointed out.

According to him, the talks in Brussels need to continue and a serious step toward a compromise needs to be made.

“The differences are the same as before, in the level of power that the community of Serb municipalities should have. I hope everyone is aware that Serbia wants to make a step forward and that it wants the dialogue to work but on the other had we need to have a proposal that could adequately solve the issue of parallelism of institution and to be acceptable for Serbs living in Kosovo and Metohija,” the Serbian PM pointed out.

He said that it was necessary to do a “comprehensive analysis” in Belgrade and to see what the consequences of the decisions were.

“Everybody is aware that Serbia will be the one to blame if the agreement is not reached,” Dačić said, adding that if no deal was reached, “it will mean the end of a chance to get a date for the start of the EU accession talks this year”.

“Then again, we cannot accept something that is not possible, because the level of powers given to the Serb municipalities is almost nonexistent. It takes a lot of political will and courage to make a step forward. Serbia’s top officials should have a united stance on what should be done next,” the prime minister concluded.