Tadić touches on northern Kosovo

President Boris Tadic stated in Brussels on Sunday that "any agreement reached with Kosovo must be based on the reality in the field". According to him, that reality is that "Kosovo Albanians will never accept the sovereignty of Serbia, just like Serbs in the north of the province will never accept the sovereignty of Kosovo". Tadic touches on northern Kosovo Taking part in the panel discussion 'Bringing the Balkans into Europe', held in the scope of the Brussels Forum, Tadic pointed out that, due to such reality in Kosovo, the Belgrade-Pristina started with certain technical and concrete solutions that should facilitate the everyday life, so as to gradually come to the solving of more difficult issues. Serbs form a majority north of the Ibar River and reject the Kosovo Albanian unilateral declaration of independence, and the authority of the government in Pristina. Deputy Director General for Enlargement at the European Commission Stefano Sannino, and U.S. Congressman Michael Turner also took part in the panel discussion. When asked what can be done "to make the Serbs in Kosovo feel at home", Tadic responded: "If you ask Serbs if they are Kosovars, they will tell you: No, we are Serbs." When asked if Belgrade sees the Pristina side of the dialogue as Kosovo or the U.S., Tadic said that Belgrade sees Kosovo Albanians, but also feels the influence of others. "My intention is for a historical conflict to be resolved," Tadic said. "Serbia is trying to solve a historical conflict between the Serbs and Albanians which has lasted for 100 years with a compromise, so as not to have one side that is losing everything and the other side that is getting everything." When asked if the Serbian policy is contradictory, "taking into account that Serbia marks the anniversary of the NATO bombing in 1999", and that the Serbian and the Republic of Srpska (RS) governments hold joint sessions, Tadic responded that Serbia will continue marking the anniversary of the beginning of NATO bombing. "Our country was bombed, children were killed. Any normal country would mark that and Serbia will continue doing so," Tadic pointed out. When it comes to the RS, Tadic reiterated that cooperation between Belgrade and Banja Luka is completely in accordance with the Dayton Peace Accords. "Be sure that Serbia will do nothing that would negatively affect Bosnia's territorial integrity, and neither will Croatia. We are the guarantors of the Dayton Accords," he emphasized. "Serbia does not have the influence it had at the time of (Slobodan) Milosevic, it is precisely what we are trying to avoid. The main thing Serbia is doing when it comes to Bosnia is preserving the country's integrity," Tadic underscored. Boris Tadic (Tanjug, file)

Tadić touches on northern Kosovo

Taking part in the panel discussion 'Bringing the Balkans into Europe', held in the scope of the Brussels Forum, Tadić pointed out that, due to such reality in Kosovo, the Belgrade-Priština started with certain technical and concrete solutions that should facilitate the everyday life, so as to gradually come to the solving of more difficult issues.

Serbs form a majority north of the Ibar River and reject the Kosovo Albanian unilateral declaration of independence, and the authority of the government in Priština.

Deputy Director General for Enlargement at the European Commission Stefano Sannino, and U.S. Congressman Michael Turner also took part in the panel discussion.

When asked what can be done "to make the Serbs in Kosovo feel at home", Tadić responded: "If you ask Serbs if they are Kosovars, they will tell you: No, we are Serbs."

When asked if Belgrade sees the Priština side of the dialogue as Kosovo or the U.S., Tadić said that Belgrade sees Kosovo Albanians, but also feels the influence of others.

"My intention is for a historical conflict to be resolved," Tadić said. "Serbia is trying to solve a historical conflict between the Serbs and Albanians which has lasted for 100 years with a compromise, so as not to have one side that is losing everything and the other side that is getting everything."

When asked if the Serbian policy is contradictory, "taking into account that Serbia marks the anniversary of the NATO bombing in 1999", and that the Serbian and the Republic of Srpska (RS) governments hold joint sessions, Tadić responded that Serbia will continue marking the anniversary of the beginning of NATO bombing. "Our country was bombed, children were killed. Any normal country would mark that and Serbia will continue doing so," Tadić pointed out.

When it comes to the RS, Tadić reiterated that cooperation between Belgrade and Banja Luka is completely in accordance with the Dayton Peace Accords. "Be sure that Serbia will do nothing that would negatively affect Bosnia's territorial integrity, and neither will Croatia. We are the guarantors of the Dayton Accords," he emphasized.

"Serbia does not have the influence it had at the time of (Slobodan) Milošević, it is precisely what we are trying to avoid. The main thing Serbia is doing when it comes to Bosnia is preserving the country's integrity," Tadić underscored.