Serbian Government Office for Kosovo and Metohija Director Marko Djuric said on Thursday that it was time for a compromise between Belgrade and Pristina and that an idea on the territory swap should not be discarded if it would lead to a solution, Beta news agency reported.
Speaking at the Belgrade Security Forum conference on the Belgrade – Pristina dialogue, he said Serbia should act with caution.
“We want a solution which won’t lead to another archetype between the Serbs and the Albanians. If we reach an agreement on two important issues – the status and territory – if we manage to shake hands, I’m convinced that the relations between us will change for better,” Djuric said.
The speculations about the territory swap appeared mostly in media and usually meant the exchange of the south of Serbia, with primarily ethnic Albanian population for northern Kosovo with the Serb majority.
Serbia’s Foreign Minister said in August that the separation and exchange of territories were just ideas, something that would be talked about and that it was too early to go into the details.
Pristina has vehemently rejected the speculations, and its President Hashim Thaci advocated only the annexation of Serbia’s southern part.
Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic said he favored the separation with the Albanians but did not specify much about it. He only said it was impossible Pristina to had it all and Serbia to be left with nothing.
