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Serbia openly refused US demand to stop lobbying, PM Brnabic said (Serbian Government, B92, Happy TV)

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said on Thursday that the issue of Kosovo must not be left as a frozen conflict as it affects Serbia's progress. But she also pointed to the pampering approach of the international community and the EU towards Pristina.

In a broadcast on Happy TV, Brnabic underlined that people must understand a frozen conflict is a frozen instability. We will not be able to use all of our potential and all the healthy basis we have and go as fast as we can if we have a frozen conflict.

Dacic to Politika: No indication of US involvement in dialogue with Kosovo (Politika, Beta, N1)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said that the US is ready to organise a signing ceremony between Belgrade and Pristina and to invite other countries to the ceremony. He added that the US National Security Adviser John Bolton had talked about it with the Rusian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

"It’s important for the US that Russia agrees and takes part in it. The great powers must be the guarantee of this agreement because the UN Security Council must adopt it," Dacic told Politika daily.

US Ambassador Philip Kosnett: There is no way to maintain status quo (Radio kontakt plus, KoSSev)

In an interview to KoSSev news portal, U.S. Ambassador in Pristina, Philip Kosnettt said that he thought that 2019 “must be the year of a comprehensive agreement”. “If the relationship between Serbia and Kosovo does not improve, it will become even worse. There is really no option to retain the status quo”.

Ambassador Kosnett emphasized his country wants to see a “creative, comprehensive agreement between the two countries”, which must take into account the care and security of Serbs in Kosovo and that it cannot be ignored.

FM: Dialogue will likely continue in different format (B92, Tanjug, Nedeljnik)

Ivica Dacic says that Serbia will in 2019 certainly intensively deal with the issue of Kosovo and Metohija, and "probably in a different format than until now."

"No one can say - we will solve Kosovo and Metohija next year, at least no serious politician in our country and abroad. As far as I'm concerned, I would like to have an agreement and a solution tomorrow, but that's not realistic, many more things need to fall into place," the foreign minister told the weekly Nedeljnik.

"Holbrooke's model'' of negotiation the most realistic (Danas)

Belgrade based daily Danas writes about three possible ways of US engagement in search for a solution to the Kosovo issue.

Commenting on the expected increase of the US engagement in the next phase of negotiations on Kosovo, which many see as final, unofficially Western diplomats for daily Danas cite as the first ''the Kissinger Model''.

Vladislav Jovanovic: US has plan “B” for Kosovo (Srna, Tanjug, Blic)

A retired Yugoslav diplomat Vladislav Jovanovic assessed that Serbia’s right to sovereignty over Kosovo and Metohija is stronger than the right of self-declared Kosovo to its own sovereignty, saying other countries that have interests in the Balkans would decide on the resolution of Kosovo issue, and not only the US, Blic daily reported.

"US wants Kosovo agreement to be signed like Israel-Egypt" (BETA, Tanjug, Prva TV)

The US is ready to organize the signing of a Belgrade-Pristina agreement modeled on the signing of the peace agreement between Israel and Egypt in 1978. Serbia's First Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic told this to Prva TV in Belgrade on Friday.

Dacic added that everything that has been happening lately shows the solution will not be reached quickly.

Kesic: US would like to use opportunity, offer carrots to both leaders (Prva TV)

Obviously, there is a decision in the US administration to use the opportunity and push the story on the resolution of Belgrade-Pristina issue forward, analyst Obrad Kesic told Prva TV.

However, he termed the timing to do so as “strange” since relations between Belgrade and Pristina have escalated.

Poe: America would like to help (Tanjug, B92, Voice of America)

A Co-chair of the Serbian Caucus in US Congress, Congressman from Texas Ted Poe expects that Washington would get active on the issue of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, Serbian media report.

“I think Washington would be more involved and it should be more involved in resolving this issue, and maybe move the EU to some other role, because I think that the US can help to encourage, not only Serbia, but Kosovo as well, to sit down at the negotiation table and resolve the issues that last for years,” Congressman Poe told Voice of America.

Dialogue only way to normalize relations, US diplomat tells Serbian President (BETA, TV N1)

US Assistant Secretary of State Wess Mitchel told Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic that the dialogue is the only way to normalize Belgrade-Pristina relations, the Serbian President’s cabinet said in a press release on Tuesday.

Speaking in a telephone conversation, Mitchel said that the crucial thing is to overcome tensions.

The press release added that they discussed the situation in the region, especially Belgrade-Pristina relations.