Reaction of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, to yesterday’s headline in Danas

Belgrade – The headline in Danas newspaper, which transmits statements from Marko Djuric’s ‘Koha Ditore’ interview, does not match the content, conversation or attitudes of Marko Djuric, the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, or the Government of the Republic of Serbia.

Belgrade wants peace in Kosovo and normalization between Serbs and Albanians through new agreements such as the first Brussels agreement. But a formal peace agreement is out of the question and there can be no talks on that, because such an agreement would involve two “states” and two internationally recognized parties to a conflict. The future of Serbs and Albanians in the province lies in the normalization of relations, and not in cleverly playing withheadlines in news articles, said a written response from the Office for Kosovo and Metohija after part of the interview with Marko Djuric with the Pristina daily ‘Koha Ditore’ was published in Danas.

The same response was sent yesterday to the editorial staff of the Pristina daily newspaper, and Marko Djuric yesterday morning gave a statement on the same topic to Radio Television Serbia.

Danas’s article, entitled "Maybe we will sign the peace agreement," referred to Marko Djuric’s answer to the question by the Pristina daily on whether Serbia would accept a peace agreement if the representatives of Kosovo offered that. He replied that "it all depends on what would be offered," and that "Serbia is ready for cooperation." Djuric, therefore, in the aforementioned interview, did not answer negatively on this subject, like Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic, who recently said that Serbia would never sign a peace agreement with Pristina, because it would mean mutual recognition of Serbia and Kosovo.

The whole story came after recent statements by Prime Minister Hashim Thaci and Kosovo Foreign Minister Enver Hoxhaj, who said that the ultimate outcome of the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina should be the signing of a peace agreement.

Transcript of statement by the Office for Kosovo and Metohija

Koha Ditore journalist Fisnik Minci had an interview with the Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric, live in Belgrade; the meeting was also attended by a reporter from Danas newspaper. In order for readers to assess themselves what Djuric wanted to say, we transmit an integral part of the interview for Koha Ditore, which is fully authorized by the Office for Kosovo and Metohija.

Koha Ditore: If Kosovo in the future offers Belgrade a historic peace agreement, will Belgrade accept or reject it?

Djuric: It depends on what will be offered.

Koha Ditore: So you still do not have an answer on an agreement that would once and for all solve the Albanian-Serbian conflict?

Djuric: Depends on the offer. Belgrade is ready to talk about anything.