First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia Ivica Dacic said that the dismissal of Serbian minister in the Kosovo government has a negative impact on the continuation of dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, but that the talks in Brussels should be continued.
In an interview with Voice of America (VOA), he recalled that the talks between Belgrade and Pristina were not held for a long time because Pristina government has not been constituted. However, he noted that for the past three years was achieved remarkable progress in relations, whereby Serbia has not changed its principled stance when it comes to the status.
“But we want to solve the fundamental life issues. In this sense, I think that Pristina authorities did not valued enough the efforts of Belgrade,” said Dacic recalling that Serbs in Kosovo participated in local and parliamentary elections, and representatives of the Serbian people are the part of the Kosovo government.
According to him, if we want successful outcome of the dialogue in Brussels, the main thing is the confidence and political will. He stressed that Belgrade is interested in the continuation of the dialogue, “because of implementation of the most important thing for the Serbs – Community/Association of Serbian municipalities”.
When asked if he believes that the issue of combine “Trepca” should be discussed in Brussels, Dacic reminded that the talks on Trepca were initiated in Brussels, but never completed. “It is a property issue and as previously agreed, the talks on Trepca should be discussed in the continuation of the dialogue. That is one of the reasons why the topic on “Trepca” cannot be skipped, in addition to the fact it is not a political but an economic issue,” he explained.
Dacic said that in ten years Serbia has repaid half a billion euros of the Kosovo debt, starting from 2000, because Serbia considers Kosovo as its integral part. “This is not the 19th century to consider all the property on our territory as nationalized. This is the modern world, the 21st century, and these topics must be discussed, without any political pressure, but at the experts’ level,” pointed out Serbian Foreign Minister.
