"Pristina must realize it will only get harder for them"

"Pristina must realize it will only get harder for them"

According to Dacic, Eichhorst's participation is no news because she is already a part of the negotiation process. "She is already in that service of Federica Mogherini and of the European Commission, and is already taking part in these discussion. She's been there as long as Mogherini," Dacic told Prva TV on Tuesday morning.

He recalled that the dialogue began with Catherine Ashton, who had her own team, and that after elections in the EU, the negotiations were taken over by Mogherini, who replaced Ashton. At that time, almost the entire administration of the European Commissions was replaced, and therefore also the team that participated in the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina.

According to the minister, the key thing from the negotiations in Brussels on Sunday, which he also attended, was Mogherini's statement. After several hours of talks with Vucic and Thaci, and the delegations, she wrote a couple of sentences, Dacic remarked.

He added that it "stressed only that we are all in agreement that there is some possibility of resolving the issue of relations between Serbia and Kosovo with a compromise, that both should make effort to reach that solution and intensify the talks."

Dacic pointed out that during the dialogue, there have been several situations that could have spelled its end, and mentioned as an example the incident when Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Marko Djuric was arrested in Kosovska Mitrovica.

"There has been danger of that, and the biggest was during the pointless incident with Marko Djuric. He sat at the same table in Brussels, and remember how they treated him. I don't know how I would have reacted in his place," said Dacic, and added that Pristina "showed that they were in charge there and don't plan for a peaceful solution of this issue, and that they threaten to occupy certain territories - hence such a statement by Mogerini."

Dacic stressed that Pristina has so far been constantly looking for excuses, "because there was no intensive dialogue."

"There is also the question about the capacity of Thaci, whether he can carry this question on behalf of everyone in Kosovo, because he can always have the alibi of wanting something, but others being against it," Dacic said.

He could not confirm that the next meeting between Vucic and Thaci would take place in two weeks, as some media reported today. "There will definitely be a meeting in July, and beyond that, the technical talks are taking place," he says.

"It is important to say here - if we want a lasting solution, it cannot be based on Pristina's wish for Serbia to recognize their unilateral decision. If they think that is a compromise, there is no need to continue the talks. We must continue with the search for a solution," Dacic said.

He also said that the issue of holding a referendum on Kosovo is a long way away, while what's evident now is that there is no willingness to compromise on the Pristina side.

"That's why I said that the biggest obstacle to a lasting solution is the refusal of Pristina to understand the new reality, that the circumstances have changed, the perception of Kosovo has changed, the distribution of power has changed and the situation is not the same as it was ten years ago," he stressed.

Dacic added that Pristina asked him to stop lobbying some countries to withdraw their recognition of Kosovo. "Pacolli told me, 'don't be ruining my business'," Dacic said.

"Therefore, the circumstances have changed. America is not the same, and the US administration now would not support Kosovo at all costs. Everything has changed compared to ten years ago, and Pristina should realize that it will only be getting harder for them," Dacic said.