In an interview with Deutsche Welle radio on Tuesday, Vucic said that passing the constitutional law on the fundamental autonomy for KiM is necessary as Serbia’s position regarding the solution to this problem has to be made clear.

Under UN Security Council resolution 1244, adopted after the end of the armed conflict in Mitrovica North, Kosovo is to enjoy a highest degree of autonomy.

This option, however, has never been considered, since the ethnic Albanians, backed by the United States and other Western allies and under the interim UN administration, unilaterally and unconstitutionally proclaimed independence on February 17, 2008.

Vucic, Serbia’s future prime minister, said he will continue to play an active role in the dialogue with Pristina, conducted under the auspices of the EU in Brussels.

He said that Belgrade has been implementing agreements reached in the dialogue respecting the agreement on the normalizing relations with Pristina and expressed his conviction that a compromise on the judiciary will be reached soon.

“Our job is to talk with the Albanians in Kosovo. We call it the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue. They term it a Kosovo-Serbia dialogue. But whatever you call it, the essence is not in its form, but in how the people will live and in what we can do for the people,” Vucic said.

Asked whether Serbia will introduce constitutional changes to be able to implement all the agreements with Pristina, Vucic said that the issue is a topic for the negotiations between Serbia and the EU.

Vucic said that Serbia should first pass a constitutional law on the fundamental autonomy for KiM that would be consistent with the Constitution, to avoid the Constitutional Court finding that the implementation of agreements with Pristina is not in compliance with the highest legal act.

He rejected the idea of partitioning Kosovo, saying that Serbia’s Constitution does not stipulate any such thing.

Asked whether Serbia will recognize Kosovo’s independence if it is a requirement for entry into the EU, Vucic said that nobody is raising the question as everybody is aware that it cannot be discussed at this time.

Serbian First Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said that the arguments, which Serbia presented before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), are much stronger than the ones presented by Croatia in the dispute on mutual charges of genocide in the war of 1991/95.

In an interview to Deutsche Welle radio on Tuesday, Vucic pointed out that when looking at the events (of the war) it is absolutely clear that Croatia’s arguments are not strong, but added that the final decision is to made by the court in The Hague.

Asked to comment on the potential impact of the ICJ’s ruling on the future Croatian-Serbian relations, Vucic said that it is necessary to look to the future pragmatically and rationally.

“What happened, happened. It is all right to draw the line, to see what the most relevant judicial body in the world has to say about it. Will there be more love afterwards? No, and there is no doubt about it. But we must think about the future in a rational and a pragmatic way, and act accordingly,” replied the future prime minister of Serbia.

Vucic said that Serbia demands that Croatia observe the rights of refugees, to restore their property and tenancy rights, and to stop taking away their land, whereas Croatia requests from Serbia to provide more information on missing persons.

Serbia is ready to inform Croatia about any new information as soon as it is obtained, he said, adding that he hopes Croatia would do the same.

Commenting on the relations with the neighboring countries, Vucic reaffirmed Serbia’s support to the Dayton Agreement (which ended the civil war) and the full respect of the territorial integrity of Bosnia-Herzegovina, adding, however, that the “political situation in that country is very difficult.”

Asked if he believes that Republika Srpska (RS) would at some point organize a referendum on independence and secession from BiH, he replied that he thinks that RS hears what Serbia is saying.

“Serbia loves Republika Srpska, Serbia protects the identity of Republika Srpska as an entity in accordance with the Dayton Agreement, but Serbia respects the territorial integrity of Bosnia-Herzegovina. I would like Republika Srpska to keep that in mind,” said Vucic.

Vucic said that Serbia’s path is the European path, but that Serbia has one wish and a request for the European allies: not to force it to be the enemy of Russia.

“Serbia is on the European path, it will be a part of the EU and not of the Eurasian Union. Serbia complies with its obligations, but it wants to maintain good and friendly relations with Russia as well,” said Vucic.

“It is not a simple issue for Serbia at all, because those who now protect the territorial integrity of Ukraine are the ones who violated the territorial integrity of Serbia,” Vucic noted in the Tuesday’s interview to Deutsche Welle.

He stressed that Serbia will respect the international legal norms as well as the territorial integrity of all United Nations member states, but it cannot impose sanctions on the Russian Federation.

“I think that it is a fair and honest approach from Serbia,” he said.

The future prime minister of Serbia emphasized that it is not the policy of non-alignment, as he clearly stated that Serbia is on its way to Europe, but it does not want any animosity with Russia.

Serbia does not take the Russian or anyone else’s side, but acts responsibly within the international conventions, stressed Vucic, adding that the Western forces should respect this stance, keeping in mind the past experiences and the position of Russia in 1999 (not supporting NATO’s bombing campaign against Serbia).

Vucic said that Serbia’s path is the European path, but that Serbia has one wish and a request for the European allies: not to force it to be the enemy of Russia.

“Serbia is on the European path, it will be a part of the EU and not of the Eurasian Union. Serbia complies with its obligations, but it wants to maintain good and friendly relations with Russia as well,” said Vucic.

“It is not a simple issue for Serbia at all, because those who now protect the territorial integrity of Ukraine are the ones who violated the territorial integrity of Serbia,” Vucic noted in the Tuesday’s interview to Deutsche Welle.

He stressed that Serbia will respect the international legal norms as well as the territorial integrity of all United Nations member states, but it cannot impose sanctions on the Russian Federation.

“I think that it is a fair and honest approach from Serbia,” he said.

The future prime minister of Serbia emphasized that it is not the policy of non-alignment, as he clearly stated that Serbia is on its way to Europe, but it does not want any animosity with Russia.

Serbia does not take the Russian or anyone else’s side, but acts responsibly within the international conventions, stressed Vucic, adding that the Western forces should respect this stance, keeping in mind the past experiences and the position of Russia in 1999 (not supporting NATO’s bombing campaign against Serbia).