It is time that we say what Serbia thinks is the lowest it can go in terms of a solution for Kosovo-Metohija, and the final decision needs to be made by the people in a referendum, says Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic.
There are different situations in Kosovo-Metohija – in one part of it, there are no Serbs, in another, ethnic Albanians are the majority while Serbs live in enclaves that are also under the authority of the Pristina administration, and there is also a third part, in which Serbs are the majority and there are no ethnic Albanians, and the Pristina administration has absolutely no authority over it, Nikolic said on a TV Pink talk show late Sunday.
“The community of Serb municipalities needs to be constituted, and the demands that Pristina has come up with should not be accepted,” said Nikolic, who believes that Brussels’ suggestions regarding scrapping parallel institutions in northern Kosovo should not be accepted because that would mean that Serbia is giving up on its principles.
Many things will become clearer after Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic’s meeting in Brussels in early February, and the parliament should then take a position that would ultimately be backed by all, Nikolic said.
Asked whether there are two policies on Kosovo-Metohija, Nikolic responded:
“We have only one policy, and it is the policy that has been ordered by the Serbian parliament to the government and the president of the Republic, as well as to any other Serbian representative who is making decisions in any segment about life in Kosovo-Metohija. The Serbian parliament has issued an order to all of them, and will definitely do so at least one more time,” Nikolic said.
He said that the new European Commission has brought up something that is a slight reason for concern and had never been mentioned by Catherine Ashton and Stefan Fuele – the idea that there will be a demand to recognise Kosovo.
The people need to decide in a referendum on whether they will accept all of the EU’s conditions, and the decision of the Serbian citizens, whatever it may be, will have to be implemented, the Serbian president said.
“Should the Serbian citizens tell me to sign the independence of Kosovo-Metohija, I would leave the position I am in”, Nikolic said.
