Partition “not realistic option anymore”

Balkan Trust for Democracy Executive Director Ivan Vejvoda says partition of Kosovo is no longer a realistic option, but that an autonomy for Serbs is.

Izvor: Blic

Saturday, 17.09.2011.

12:18

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Balkan Trust for Democracy Executive Director Ivan Vejvoda says partition of Kosovo is no longer a realistic option, but that an autonomy for Serbs is. He told Belgrade-based daily Blic that autonomy for Serbs would be "a compromise which would allow northern Kosovo to have a special status in which Serbs would have the feeling they are self-governed, have ties to Belgrade in many domains, would not feel enclosed in something they do not want, while Pristina would not feel it lost its territory." Partition “not realistic option anymore” The international policy expert pointed out that speeding up the process of resolving the relations with Pristina, the northern Kosovo issue and the rights of Serbs across Kosovo was in the interest of Serbia, even though all solutions were difficult and not ideal. "Serbia's maneuvering room is narrow and there is not a lot of room to find a solution. It needs to play a delicate game and get the maximum from the minimum it is left with after losing the 1999 war," Vejvoda stressed. As far as a possible division of Kosovo, he said it was no longer a realistic option, as Serbia had let many chances slip. “The key to the talks is in determining the degree of the autonomy and the level of relations between Belgrade and an autonomous northern Kosovo, and its relation to Pristina,” Vejvoda pointed out. He said Serbia could still expect to get EU candidate status but that the beginning of the accession talks was directly tied to Belgrade's treatment of the Kosovo issue and the way the EU saw this. "An incident would take us, the EU and Pristina several steps backwards and slow down the current positive development in the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina," Vejvoda warned, adding these were the parameters within which a sensible solution needed to be found. Ivan Vejvoda

Partition “not realistic option anymore”

The international policy expert pointed out that speeding up the process of resolving the relations with Priština, the northern Kosovo issue and the rights of Serbs across Kosovo was in the interest of Serbia, even though all solutions were difficult and not ideal.

"Serbia's maneuvering room is narrow and there is not a lot of room to find a solution. It needs to play a delicate game and get the maximum from the minimum it is left with after losing the 1999 war," Vejvoda stressed.

As far as a possible division of Kosovo, he said it was no longer a realistic option, as Serbia had let many chances slip.

“The key to the talks is in determining the degree of the autonomy and the level of relations between Belgrade and an autonomous northern Kosovo, and its relation to Priština,” Vejvoda pointed out.

He said Serbia could still expect to get EU candidate status but that the beginning of the accession talks was directly tied to Belgrade's treatment of the Kosovo issue and the way the EU saw this.

"An incident would take us, the EU and Priština several steps backwards and slow down the current positive development in the dialogue between Belgrade and Priština," Vejvoda warned, adding these were the parameters within which a sensible solution needed to be found.

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