The head of Serbia’s Parliament Kosovo Committee said that a final stage of Belgrade – Pristina dialogue was approaching and that the diplomatic activities should increase, adding that Serbia would not allow Kosovo to become a UN member.
Milovan Drecun, of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), added that the final status discussion demanded a new format of negotiations.
He said that if the talks included the final status of Kosovo and not only the normalization of relations, they should take a different format because “I’m not sure any more than the European Union has the power, capacity and authority to end it.”
Drecun said that the red line which Serbia would not cross regarding Kosovo was to recognize “the self-declared state as it is, treat it as a neighboring country and allow it a seat in the UN,” adding that a legally binding agreement could not cover all those issues.
But, he said, “in the days ahead, the dialogue should strengthen and turn into permanent negotiations.”
Drecun said that Belgrade should turn more to the US which has leverage over Pristina and to the five EU member states that did not recognize Kosovo’s independence.
Speaking about a possible referendum on Kosovo, he said that if a solution with Pristina were found, “the most democratic way would be for the citizens to say if that solution was good.”
If the answer would be no, Drecun believed the current authorities should bear responsibility.
“In that situation, the will of the people should be tested in the elections,” he said, asking “how would you implement something to what the population said no?”
