The Presidents of Serbia and Kosovo, Aleksandar Vucic and Hashim Thaci said after their meeting in Brussels that they will continue the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue but were not optimistic about finding a solution soon, reports regional broadcaster N1.
The two presidents agreed to meet in Brussels at the invitation of European Union High Representative Federica Mogherini following a break in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue. The two sides disagreed over the implementation of agreements with Belgrade insisting on the forming of a Community of Serb Municipalities (ZSO) as outlined in the 2013 Brussels agreement and Pristina insisting on the implementation of an energy agreement before the ZSO is formed.
Thaci said the meeting with Vucic was “harder than can be described”. “I am not naive enough to think that we will find an immediate, magical solution for the future,” he said adding that this is a century-old problem.
Both sides will get a lot with the agreement to normalize relations but will lose much more if they don’t because both countries would be left isolated, he said. The Kosovo president said they agreed to continue the dialogue to find a solution but said he could not exclude the possibility that a final agreement might never happen.
His Serbian counterpart Vucic said they agreed to solve all problems peacefully. “Several things have been agreed which are important to the Kosovo Serbs, including solving problems peacefully with mutual respect and guarantees of security for the population. That is a very important message to the Serbs in Kosovo. It is a very important message to the citizens of Serbia,” Vucic told the Serbian state TV after the meeting.
“We spoke openly about many issues. I not too optimistic but we did open those questions and I think that is important,” the Serbian president said.
He said he would address the nation when he sees whether there is any chance of a compromise solution, adding that he won’t sign anything but would leave the final decision to the nation. “If that is at all possible. Today it does not seem to be,” he added.
Vucic said that they agreed to intensify the dialogue, adding that a compromise requires the involvement of all the great powers if the Serbians and Albanians agree because it cannot be implemented without painful decisions for both.
