President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, told a press conference today ahead of his meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Sunday that the time has come for Kosovo and Serbia to reach an historic settlement in the form of a legally-binding document. “This agreement will enable full normalisation of relations between the two countries and peoples. I believe that after 20 years of talks the time has come to sign an historic agreement that will close a century-long tragic era,” he said. “I know difficult talks are ahead of us. A comprehensive agreement is necessary so that we as a country become part of the UN and membership to NATO and the EU is accelerated. As throughout, Kosovo will have the strong support of the US which is deeply interested in the reaching of a final settlement. The EU and its members are also interested more than ever before for an agreement for normalisation and Kosovo and Serbia membership to EU to be reached,” Thaci noted.
Thaci underlined it was his constitutional duty to lead the dialogue to the end but also called for the establishment of a comprehensive team which he said would give the process more credibility and transparency. This team, according to Thaci, would consist of representatives of political parties, civil society, media, and experts of relevant fields. “This issue pertains us all, it is in everyone’s interest.”
Thaci also spoke about the border between Kosovo and Serbia saying that the issue will be discussed in the dialogue. “There are 400km of borderline that will define the border between the two countries. the issue will be on the table,” said Thaci noting that Kosovo will insist on NATO representatives being present at the border talks which he anticipates will be difficult.
