"Time has come for direct Kosovo negotiations"

"Time has come for direct Kosovo negotiations"

He stressed that in the coming period, the government of Serbia "will do all it can to fully liberalize the flow of goods, people and capital in this area."

"I think the time has also come for institutions in Pristina do the same, I think the time has come to sit and down and talk in direct dialogue how to achieve that without arguing every day and producing a daily political circus that never reconciled anybody," said Djuric.

He opined that it was also "time to turn a new page in Serbian-Albanian relations" telling representatives of Pristina they have "a partner for such a thing in Belgrade."

Djuric told citizens in Kosovo and Metohija that they should "seize the opportunity that is before them in order to have a secure and peaceful future."

In this regard Djuric expressed willingness to consider establishment of joint ventures, joint investments and joint initiatives for economic development.

"What prime ministers Rama and Vucic have been doing in the past weeks we need to continue doing at all levels when it comes to Serbs and Albanians in all of the territories where we live," said he.

According to Djuric, this is "the only way to ensure a secure and thriving future for Serbs and Albanians in this region - there shouldn't be and there is no room for quarrels."

"Neither Serbs nor Albanians will be successful unless there is reconciliation. I think the time has come not to be infantile, I think the time has come to talk directly, to talk not by constantly repeating - you, that you are a republic - we, that you are a province - because we will never agree on that," he said.

"We have to understand there are things on which we will not agree or understand each other, just as we need to understand things and interests on which we must reach political agreement, because without it there is no future for Serbs or Albanians," said Djuric.

"I think the time has come to forgive each other, to talk directly, to be mature enough and responsible to be able to do that, each of us, to keep their own truth and identity, their culture, all the mechanisms of national self-determination, and to do that in the presence of the other. It can't be that Serbs and Albanians are the two worst nations in Europe," Djuric said.

The conference today was organized with the support of the Dutch embassy in Kosovo. It was attended by seven Serbs and the same number of Albanians, and foreign ambassadors in Kosovo.

The Radio Television of Kosovo (RTK) on Thursday interrupted a live broadcast from the conference as Marko Djuric was speaking.

The reason for the interruption remains unknown, Tanjug reported on Thursday afternoon, adding it was "unclear whether the time slot for the conference had expired, as Djuric was one of the last speakers at the event."