Belgrade delegation "faithful" to parliament resolution

BELGRADE Aleksandar Vulin says "Belgrade and Pristina have been given some time to see on their own whether there is something new that can be reached in the dialogue." “As for our delegation, we are in for a dialogue and we want to talk, but we cannot go below what the Serbian parliament adopted as the Resolution on Kosovo and Metohija,” the director of the Government Office for Kosovo and Metohija, who is also a member of the Belgrade negotiating team, told daily Danas on Thursday. Belgrade delegation "faithful" to parliament resolution Vulin believes that there should be "no calculations with deadlines in order to reach an agreement." “Sometimes I think that the impression of constant rush is being created in the public on purpose. The problem of Kosovo and Metohija has been on for centuries, and we want to resolve this issue once and for all,” Vulin underlined. The eighth round of the dialogue in Brussels ended without an agreement on Tuesday evening, and the mediator in the dialogue, EU's Catherine Ashton, said that for her the political dialogue is finished, and that she expects from Belgrade and Pristina to inform her about their decisions. Vulin said that the "offer" that the Serbian delegation got in Brussels would not make the community of Serb municipalities functional, while at the same time proper solutions for this community have not been presented. When asked to comment on the U.S. position that "Kosovo should decide on the manner in which it will introduce the autonomy that Serbs are seeking", and whether such a message can be interpreted as a possibility for changing the format of the talks, Vulin said that the U.S. does not participate in the talks, adding that if it were involved, he is certain that the U.S. would support this exact position. “I understand the U.S., this is a stance of a state that has recognized Kosovo's independence and which acts in line with its decision. However, I am certain that the U.S. understands and appreciates our stance - that we have not recognized Kosovo's independence and that we act like that,” Vulin said. Aleksandar Vulin (Tanjug, file) Serbia's leaders "will not sign blank paper" Aleksandar Vulin was in Kosovska Mitrovica on Thursday where he said that "none of Serbia's top officials would sign a blank paper and agree to give everything in exchange for nothing." He urged the international community to respect Serbia's right to exist and not invite it to talks where it is expected to just sit quietly and sign blank papers. He said the state leaders have a Constitution and a Resolution passed by the Serbian parliament which they must respect, and they canonot accept anything less. "If you come to us with a white paper policy asking us to sign off on something we cannot give, then do not come at all, just let us keep going as we are," Vulin said at a forum organized in Kosovska Mitrovica on April 4, celebrated as students' day in Serbia. Noting that Serbia and Serbs needs unity, he called on all political parties to come out and say loud and clear what they think about what the government is being asked to accept, and what they think about the position of Kosovo and the future of Serbia. Serbia wants to be respected and treated like every other UN member country which has its legitimate interests, said Vulin. Danas Tanjug

Belgrade delegation "faithful" to parliament resolution

Vulin believes that there should be "no calculations with deadlines in order to reach an agreement."

“Sometimes I think that the impression of constant rush is being created in the public on purpose. The problem of Kosovo and Metohija has been on for centuries, and we want to resolve this issue once and for all,” Vulin underlined.

The eighth round of the dialogue in Brussels ended without an agreement on Tuesday evening, and the mediator in the dialogue, EU's Catherine Ashton, said that for her the political dialogue is finished, and that she expects from Belgrade and Priština to inform her about their decisions.

Vulin said that the "offer" that the Serbian delegation got in Brussels would not make the community of Serb municipalities functional, while at the same time proper solutions for this community have not been presented.

When asked to comment on the U.S. position that "Kosovo should decide on the manner in which it will introduce the autonomy that Serbs are seeking", and whether such a message can be interpreted as a possibility for changing the format of the talks, Vulin said that the U.S. does not participate in the talks, adding that if it were involved, he is certain that the U.S. would support this exact position.

“I understand the U.S., this is a stance of a state that has recognized Kosovo's independence and which acts in line with its decision. However, I am certain that the U.S. understands and appreciates our stance - that we have not recognized Kosovo's independence and that we act like that,” Vulin said.

Serbia's leaders "will not sign blank paper"

Aleksandar Vulin was in Kosovska Mitrovica on Thursday where he said that "none of Serbia's top officials would sign a blank paper and agree to give everything in exchange for nothing."

He urged the international community to respect Serbia's right to exist and not invite it to talks where it is expected to just sit quietly and sign blank papers.

He said the state leaders have a Constitution and a Resolution passed by the Serbian parliament which they must respect, and they canonot accept anything less.

"If you come to us with a white paper policy asking us to sign off on something we cannot give, then do not come at all, just let us keep going as we are," Vulin said at a forum organized in Kosovska Mitrovica on April 4, celebrated as students' day in Serbia.

Noting that Serbia and Serbs needs unity, he called on all political parties to come out and say loud and clear what they think about what the government is being asked to accept, and what they think about the position of Kosovo and the future of Serbia.

Serbia wants to be respected and treated like every other UN member country which has its legitimate interests, said Vulin.