"Republika Srpska and Kosovo? I would not compare them"

"Republika Srpska and Kosovo? I would not compare them"

She pointed out that she would not compare them.

"I would not compare Kosovo and Republika Srpska as an entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina, nor would I connect them in any way. These are separate issues and we deal with Bosnia-Herzegovina separately from the Serbia-Kosovo dialogue. I do not want to speculate that the BiH entity of RS should serve as concession of Serbia to Kosovo. "We simply do not want that because Serbia has stopped the partition," Von Cramon said in an interview with Aljazeera Balkan.

Von Cramon added that it is necessary for these countries to turn to their democratization, peaceful resolution of internal issues and full implementation of reforms related to the European Union, and not to the constant creation of tensions and nationalism.

On how she assesses the current relations in the Western Balkans and what challenges it is facing, Von Cramon stated that the current crisis reminds the European Union how important the region of the Western Balkans is for the overall European security and stability.

"There are many issues in the region, but two are the structural dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Both issues have attracted a lot of attention, including the recent crisis in northern Kosovo (license plates, the fight against corruption) and the ongoing institutional crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Unfortunately, the region is not a better place, nor closer to the European Union, despite our efforts to bring it to the European club as soon as possible," said Von Cramon.

Asked whether Angela Merkel's departure from politics would affect Germany's view of the Western Balkans, von Cramon said they hoped the new German government would have a stronger and stricter approach in the region.

"Angela Merkel's strategy in calming the Balkan autocrats has led us to stabilocracy instead of democracy and pluralism, and that must change. Coalition negotiations are still ongoing and it is still unclear who will take the helm of foreign affairs, but a new approach is definitely something to come with the new administration in Berlin", she stated.