President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, met today Albanian representatives from the Presevo Valley and said at a press briefing afterwards that the will of the Valley to join Kosovo has been ‘institutionalized’ and that he fully supports it. “If I strongly supported this cause yesterday, I support it even more today. This issue needs to be closed once and for all,” Thaci said. He said they discussed further course of action and called on all relevant institutions and political parties to ‘rise above themselves for a common cause’. He said Presevo Valley leaders presented to him a request for the Kosovo Assembly to pass a resolution expressing clear support for it joining Kosovo. He made it clear however that he did not expect Belgrade to receive this proposal with open arms but said: “I want to assure you that under no circumstance and under no price will Trepca be discussed.”
Asked to comment on the recent statements by German Chancellor Angela Merkel in support of Western Balkans’ territorial integrity, Thaci thanked Germany for its support and said Chancellor Merkel asked Thaci in their last meeting to step up efforts for reaching an acceptable agreement with Serbia. He said such an agreement would enable Kosovo to gain global recognition and UN membership.
With regards to the visit of the Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic to Kosovo over the weekend and his praise of Slobodan Milosevic, Thaci said he heard during the visit words of peace but also glorification for Milosevic whom he referred to as the “Balkans Butcher”. He said such contrasting statements do not go hand in hand and do not contribute to the dialogue for normalisation of relations.
Asked about a possible visit to the Presevo Valley, Thaci said he has never asked for a permission to visit the region because he anticipates what the reply by Serbian authorities would be. “You know I have a conviction by Serbia. Serbia has not pardoned me for it nor have I asked to be pardoned,” he said.
