At a UN Security Council session on Kosovo, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić said that, after the formation of the government in Pristina, Serbia expects a political void to be bridged, which should contribute to further implementation of the agreements reached in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue so far. We expect the further dialogue at the highest political level, due in Brussels on February 9, to give additional boost to the commenced normalization process, said Dačić.
He called on political leaders in the Province to invest additional efforts in the continuation of the dialogue, above all in the interest of people in Kosovo, after the political process in Pristina has been unblocked and conditions for that created. He said Belgrade expected the EU to be actively engaged with a view to faciliating talks with Pristina. We believe that dedication to EU integrations is the main driving force of the normalization of Belgrade-Pristina relations, he said. He said that the Serbian government would continue being actively engaged in the implementation of the Brussels agreement, in the interest of peace, economic progress and reconciliation.
He said he was satisfied that, in the report of UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, significance of the formation of the Community/Association of Serb Municipalities has been recognized, which issue has been defined as a key one in further implementation of the Brussels agreement.
The key topics in further dialogue include the issue of internally displaced persons from Kosovo, the position of the Serbian Orthodox Church and property issues, he said. The essence of the normalization process is to find true answers to the questions burdening the life of people in Kosovo and preventing them from exercising their basic rights. That can be achieved only through dialogue, based on the true understanding of the needs and interests of the other side and readiness for compromise, underlined Dačić, adding that the participation of Serbs in the political life in Kosovo should contribute to that.
He also said athat the ouster of a Serb minister in the Kosovo government, Aleksandar Jablanović, a member of the Srpska ticket, and the demonstrations of Kosovo Albanians that preceded it created an atmosphere of intolerance towards the Serbs and an additional feeling of distrust and insecurity. An atmosphere of political instability and an anti-Serb campaign have been created, which is opposite to the goals of the Brussels dilaogue, said Dačić.
He stressed that Serbia would not agree that the property issue of the “Trepča” combine should be resolved outside the framework of the Brussels agreement and said it was necessary to ensure that all the activities in Kosovo related to privatization should be returned within the valid legal frameworks. He stressed that the Kosovo Privatization Agency was implementing some privatization processes which are contrary to international and European conventions on human rights and that a tendency of the privatization of public and social companies in the areas with a Serb majority was marked.
He said that the presence of KFOR in Kosovo was necessary and that their membership must not be reduced any further. It is also necessary to introduce additional measures aimed at the protection of Serbian cultural and religious heritage in Kosovo. He pointed to the fact that insulting grafitti have been written again by Kosovo Albanian extremists on the Serbian monastery of Visoki Dečani, which is on the UNESCO heritage list, and emphasized that Serbia would continue resolutely fighting terrorism.
Dačić stressed he doubted that the Kosovo judiciary is objective in the case of a Kosmet Serb political leader, Oliver Ivanović, who has been in detainment for a year, whereas, the court procedure against him has not moved from the starting point.
Dačić commended the efforts invested in the investigation based on rapporteur Dick Marty’s report on inumane treatement of people and traffic in organs of abducted Serbs in Kosovo.
