The Belgrade Security Forum will take place next week in the Serbian capital, October 12-14. EWB, as one of the BSF’s media partners, talked to Marko Đurić, director of the Serbian government Office for Kosovo and Metohija, also a participant in this year’s BSF panel “The Belgrade – Pristina Dialogue and the EU Future”.
We asked Đurić how would he evaluate the current state of the dialogue between Belgrade and Priština. He said that from at the very beginning, the dialogue between Belgrade and Priština has been severely afflicted by the fact that the two sides do not share the same guiding interest. “Priština is in the habit of abusing each agreement, politically and in the media, in order to consolidate the so-called independence of Kosovo. Such endeavours have a very negative impact on the dynamics of the talks and on the implementation of what was hitherto agreed. Moreover, Priština’s politicians have lately been lobbying with the international community, trying to convince them that the Brussels dialogue is failing and that therefore pressure should be exerted on Serbia to recognise the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo”.
“And the very reason that the dialogue is not sufficiently effective is that from the start-off, Priština’s agenda has been in total contravention to the principle of negotiating “in good faith”. Belgrade, on the other hand, while maintaining a clear and explicit position that the agreed solutions must not implicitly or explicitly recognise the unilaterally proclaimed independence of Kosovo, is ready for a compromise on all solutions that could ensure a complete normalisation of lives of citizens in our southern province. Such a framework provides space to set aside the issue of status, a point of substantial and permanent divergence so that Belgrade and Priština can agree on institutional cooperation, normal functioning of life and many other things. It is highly unfortunate that Priština’s negotiators are pushing for the alleged and so-called state-building goals at the expense of interests of the citizens”, Đurić added.
