“I believe that partition of Kosovo would be one of the best solutions and that it would be in the interest of both, Serbs and Albanians. Such a deal, or a permanent solution of the relations between Belgrade and Pristina, could be achieved at an international conference under the auspices of the EU, but also the United States and Russia,” said Serbian FM and Deputy PM, Ivica Dacic, on the occasion of Andrey Sugurov’s statement.
Head of Russian office in Pristina, Andrey Sugurov, according to the Pristina media, again spoke about the idea of exchanging territories: “Minorities in Kosovo and Metohija have no future in Kosovo and therefore exchange of the territories would be the most justified option for both sides. The territory should look like it was in the middle of the last century, when the Presevo Valley was Kosovo, and Kosovo north- Serbia,” said Sugurov, noting that it is his personal view.
However, for this scenario, there is no official support either in Belgrade or Pristina, or in most of the world’s centres of power. Even Minister Dacic stressed that the idea of division is his personal opinion and that Serbia continues the current policy of seeking a solution through political dialogue: “Our position remains the same, and that is that we will not recognize the unilaterally proclaimed independence of Kosovo.
According to Professor of International Relations, Predrag Simic, in the case of “exchange” of Presevo Valley and the north of Kosovo, Serbia would permanently lost positions on Corridor 10, and domino effect of new divisions in the Balkans would follow: “There are B&H and Republika Srpska, Macedonia, north of Greece … In my opinion, the exchange of territory, or the partition of Kosovo would be a bad long-term solution, both geographically and politically, and for Serbia and for the entire international community.
Dusan Janjic from the Forum for Ethnic Relations is sharing the same opinion. He claims that if Serbia would accept division it would waive Kosovo forever: “Belgrade should carefully consider what it would receive with such a solution.
Charge d’Affaires of the Embassy of Russia in Belgrade, Ivan Gorbunov, said yesterday that Moscow’s official position on Kosovo remains unchanged: “This position is firmly based on international law and UN Security Council Resolution 1244. Our starting point is that Serbia has the primary role in it, and we will support any decision of the Serbian side that is acceptable to her.” Gobunov said that the statements which “in a provocative manner were attributed to the Head of the Office of the Embassy of Russia in Serbia, with headquarters in Pristina, do not correspond to the truth.”
