Several local media re-run an interview that Kosovo President, Hashim Thaci, gave to Austrian daily newspaper Der Standard. Thaci said the border between Kosovo and Serbia will be corrected and that Kosovo will not be divided.
Is there an agreement between Belgrade and Pristina and must Serbia explicitly recognize Kosovo as an independent state?
An agreement is meaningful only if there is mutual recognition and if Kosovo becomes a full-fledged member of the international community and the United Nations.
Talks must have advanced and you must have already talked with President Vucic about concrete plans for border correction. What percentage of the agreement you have reached so far?
It has been five or six years since we started dialogue with Serbia. We are now in the final phase of talks. So far, we have talked only about the process, but not about details. The idea for border correction is mine. The idea to include the Albanian municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja is mine, but we haven’t discussed it yet with President Vucic. But we will. I want to be rational: there are great differences, but the only way forward is to continue dialogue. If we don’t reach an agreement, we will obstruct each other in our path toward the EU.
What do you expect from President Vucic’s visit to northern Kosovo?
Kosovo will not be divided, there will be no exchange of territories and so far, I haven’t heard him make this kind of proposal. Kosovo will maintain its multiethnic spirit. But we need to work on resolving the animosities which have been going on for over 200 years now. We must not remain hostage of borders that were set during Tito’s Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia no longer exists. Kosovo has good relations with all its neighbors: Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania. Therefore, no one should feel threatened by a possible agreement between Kosovo and Serbia.
The Austrian Ministry of Interior Affairs is delaying visa liberalization for Kosovo’s citizens. Do you have an explanation about this?
Kosovo has met all the requirements. I expect positive developments on the matter from Austrian Chancellor Kurz with whom we have already discussed the issue.
