"Kosovo land registry issue to be settled soon"

The land registry issue in Kosovo could be resolved soon, head of Belgrade's negotiating team in the dialogue with Pristina Borko Stefanovic said on Thursday. Taking part in the conference "The challenges of forced migration in Serbia" in Belgrade, he said that the two sides are "well on the way to closing the issue." "Kosovo land registry issue to be settled soon" "This is necessary so that people can legally ascertain what their property is, and the Kosovo land registry books are filled with problematic data right now," Stefanovic said. According to him, this is a prerequisite for the return of Kosovo Serbs, along with freedom of movement. He said that only 7.7 percent of all property disputes in Kosovo have been settled in the past 12 years and only 72 evictions carried out. "This means that restitution of usurped Serb-owned property would take 500 years," Stefanovic said. At the conference, German Ambassador to Serbia Wolfram Maas said that he supports the talks between Belgrade and Pristina, and that the EU will offer assistance in resolving practical issues. Vladimir Petronijevic, the executive director of Group 484 - the NGO which organized the conference, assessed that progress needs to be made in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, as that would speed up the return of refugees and IDPs. He also said that Serbia has the highest number of refugees ad IDPs in Europe.

"Kosovo land registry issue to be settled soon"

"This is necessary so that people can legally ascertain what their property is, and the Kosovo land registry books are filled with problematic data right now," Stefanović said.

According to him, this is a prerequisite for the return of Kosovo Serbs, along with freedom of movement.

He said that only 7.7 percent of all property disputes in Kosovo have been settled in the past 12 years and only 72 evictions carried out.

"This means that restitution of usurped Serb-owned property would take 500 years," Stefanović said.

At the conference, German Ambassador to Serbia Wolfram Maas said that he supports the talks between Belgrade and Priština, and that the EU will offer assistance in resolving practical issues.

Vladimir Petronijević, the executive director of Group 484 - the NGO which organized the conference, assessed that progress needs to be made in the Belgrade-Priština dialogue, as that would speed up the return of refugees and IDPs.

He also said that Serbia has the highest number of refugees ad IDPs in Europe.