"State borders cannot be crossed with Kosovo-issued IDs"

"State borders cannot be crossed with Kosovo-issued IDs"

Đurić told a news conference that "those citizens who possess identity cards issued by the provisional institutions in Priština or UNMIK, with verification obtained at administrative crossings from the Serbian MUP, can leave (the country) via border crossings or via the Belgrade airport."

"We wish to, in this way, facilitate travel to other countries to our citizens who posses only ID cards issued by the provisional institutions of self-government in Priština," Đurić said.

He added that "the heavy atmosphere created in the public" stemmed from "some analyst's wrong or hasty interpretation" of the negotiations in Brussels over the past few weeks.

As he said, "agreements that have been reached regarding the functioning of the liaison officers, and related to the movement of officials from Belgrade and Priština" mean that officials will find it easier to travel. However, this, according to him, does not mean that "diplomatic relations are being established between Belgrade and Priština."

"Diplomatic relations are established between states, and never between a central government and its own province," he said and expressed confidence that citizens of Serb and Albanian nationality will benefit from the deal - "because the purpose of the negotiations is to make everyday life simpler and more certain than it is today."

Đurić reiterated that the state leadership was "ready to say it to everyone's face" that Kosovo and Metohija is part of Serbia and will be in the future.

"We do not go to the provincial government to argue with the Albanians about Kosovo's status, we go there to solve the problems that the Serbs have, to correct the overall political, economic and security situation, while our position on the territorial integrity of Serbia and the self-proclaimed Kosovo is well-known and will always remain the same," Đurić said.

He stressed that the government of Serbia and the Office for Kosovo "work towards the elimination of institutional chaos in Kosovo."

"It will be difficult to do without the cooperation and good will of the institutions in Priština, the international community and without establishing the Community of Serb Municipalities," Đurić said, stressing that "the priority of the government of Serbia in Kosovo and Metohija is stability and establishing of the Community of Serb Municipalities."

Đurić reiterated that Serbia will not reduce the funds allocated to the Serbs in Kosovo and that there will be no layoffs there, adding that the country "wants to bring order to institutions, to know who receives is and how money is spent, and in all the years ahead Serbia will be with its people both political and financially."