Serbia has received an ultimatum – “to recognize Kosovo in exchange for the Community of Serb Municipalities (ZSO).”
At least that’s what the press is reporting this Thursday, Prva TV said.
According to the media, the Serbian president “received such an offer” from diplomats in Berlin, Paris, London, and Washington – while this has been “confirmed to him” these last days during the meetings in New York City.
Serbia’s Minister for EU Integrations Jadranka Joksimovic spoke about this for the broadcaster:
“What’s more important is that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has demonstrated a responsible policy, statehood and resolve in all relevant places and forums, with everyone involved in the process. He presented the position of Serbia, which is important, and although he has not been met with understanding and flexibility, that does not mean that Serbia has no valid arguments and that the voice of Serbia is not being heard.”
After a repeated question about media speculation, the minister said that her thinking was “not at all based on headlines in the newspapers, but on the facts.”
“Those who have recognized the independence of Kosovo are pushing their agenda, for that project not to collapse, and that is realpolitik. But five (EU-member) states have not recognized it, and a part of the world. We are promoting our agenda of interest, and the Brussels agreement (reached in the Belgrade-Pristina talks) is legally binding, one party has not fulfilled any of the obligations, and the guarantor of that agreement is the European Union. In Brussels, there must be a topic of whether there is political will in Pristina to implement it,” said Joksimovic.
Meanwhile, another member of the ruling SNS party, Milovan Drecun, who serves as chairman of the Serbian National Assembly’s Committee on Kosovo and Metohija, also spoke for the media, to say that the West “does not want to open the issue of solving Kosovo’s final status, because for them that process is finished.”
Drecun stressed that they “expect Belgrade to confirm that.”
“Obviously, the West wants to convince Belgrade to make a concession, not only not to oppose the entry of Kosovo into UNESCO and Interpol, but for us to open the door of the UN to them, which is not acceptable to Belgrade,” Drecun told public broadcaster RTS, adding that Serbia should continue to defend its interests despite the complex situation.
According to him, the West does not want a long-term solution for Kosovo and therefore is not engaging in talks with Serbia on this topic, which encourages Pristina not to fulfill the agreements already reached, i.e., the one to establish the Community of Serb Municipalities (ZSO).
“The ZSO is being used as a means of blackmail – you (Belgrade) should give something to get what has been agreed in negotiations,” Drecun said, adding that the Kosovo problem is interfering in Serbia’s development, and that the country “does not want to freeze the problem because it would lead Kosovo into a Greater Albania, but instead wants to solve it.”
Drecun said that it was “necessary to look at the situation that is unfolding in Brussels, and tie it all together with the behavior of the West and of Pristina.”
“It seems that Pristina is doing everything in agreement with the West. Pressure on Serbia is intensifying, and in the geopolitical confrontation between the US and Russia, the Kosovo problem is being used,” Drecun said.
He said that in resolving it, Belgrade must rely on countries that understand its position, such as Russia, China, Spain.
Asked “what could happen if Serbia did not accept the ultimatum of the West,” Drecun did not rule out the possibility of “isolation.”
“Serbia continues with the policy of not recognizing Kosovo’s independence declared in this way, of not opening the door of the UN to it. Vucic is seeking support for such a policy and firmly insists that our path cannot be obstructed by Pristina’s unilateral behavior,” Drecun concluded.
See at: https://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics.php?yyyy=2018&mm=03&dd=22&nav_id=103760
