Kosovo President Hashim Thaci says in an interview with the Vienna daily Presse that the ”case” of Marko Djuric was unnecessary and that something like this should not be repeated, and that he agreed with the President of Serbia about necessity of the agreement between Belgrade and Pristina, reports Belgrade based daily Blic.
– Djuric’s case was unnecessary. It was the provocation of the Serbian authorities – claims Thaci.
– We could either react or accept a violation of our sovereignty. This image was not helpful to Kosovo. Something like this should not be repeated, so we need to re-launch the dialogue with Belgrade – he says.
Thaci says that at the recent EU-Western Balkans Summit in Sofia he has agreed with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic that the agreement has no alternative.
– Dialogue is a difficult process, which gives all parties worries. However, this is not a boxing match, in which only one side wins. There should be a ‘win – win’ situation for both sides. We want mutual recognition, he told Presse, according to Blic.
Thaci points out that if the chance for a solution is not used, then the next decade will be lost.
“Not all were angels, but the KLA led a just war”
Thaci also comments about the rumour that there is a list of 20 high-ranking persons who will stand before the Special War Crimes Chamber in Kosovo and says that he has no such information and that this is a matter for the judiciary, adding that he does not want to comment on such speculations.
He also argues that he was not critical of the establishment of the Court, reminding that he had led negotiations with the international community on its establishment.
– We are not afraid of judiciary and justice, because we have nothing to hide. The KLA led a just war. I cannot say that every soldier was an angel, but the thing was just. The Special Court gives Kosovo a further opportunity to prove responsibility as a state, Thaci says.
In this interview for the Vienna newspaper, Thaci claims that the summit in Sofia was the first such summit where Kosovo was represented as a ”sovereign state”.
– They all greeted it. Of course, it was clearly put to knowledge that Kosovo, and all other countries of the region, need to fulfil their tasks and continue reforms if they want to join the EU.
Noting that the then Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, because of Kosovo, was not at the Summit, Thaci said that Madrid was represented at this gathering, but at the second level.
“We do not see Russia as an enemy”
– The conclusion was supported by all, and our participation was respected. I understand that this is a tricky topic for Madrid, but any comparison between Spain and Milosevic’s Serbia, as well as Catalonia and Kosovo is wrong. I have a lot of respect for the democratic traditions of Spain. In Kosovo, genocide took place by Serbia. Spain is a friendly country for us – says Thaci.
He expresses satisfaction with the fact that he is the president of ”the country in the region, whose population is the most pro-European and pro-American” and at the same time he expresses regret that ”it is the most isolated country”, Blic reports.
Asked about the influence of Russia and Turkey, Thaci says that almost it is impossible for Russia to play a role in Kosovo.
– But we do not see Russia as an enemy. Moscow’s policy has more to do with solidarity with Serbia than with the opposition to Kosovo. I expect Russia to recognize Kosovo, because it would help Serbia in freeing from the wrong myths – he says.
Asked about the influence of Turkey, Thaci says that most of Kosovo’s population is Muslim, and at the same time it is the most pro-European people in the Balkans.
– Islam in Kosovo is European. Kosovo is a sovereign state that makes its own decisions – he claims.
To the conclusion that recently there were terrible reactions in Kosovo because of the extradition of Turkish citizens to Ankara, alleged gulenists, Thaci says that this was a unique case, and that there were errors in the technical process, and that it will never happen again.
