Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell said on Wednesday in Belgrade that the cases of Kosovo and Catalonia are not comparable. These two situations, he said, have nothing to do with one another.
"Such comparisons fall on deaf ears. They have no weight, although advocates of Catalonia's independence like them," Borrell said in response to questions at a joint press conference with the Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic.
The President of the Czech Republic, Milos Zeman has spoken decisively against Catalonia's independence, as it would "open Pandora's box and start a chain reaction," Serbian media reported.
By: Chema Arraiza
Catalonia’s recent declaration of independence has prompted many to draw comparisons with events in Kosovo – but closer analysis shows the two cases are very different.
The Spanish government has taken direct control of Catalonia in the past few days in order to quell its bid for independence.
The United Pensioners' Party (PUPS) has proposed that Spain be included, within the team of EU mediators, in the Brussels dialogue of Belgrade and Pristina, Serbian media reported.
In a statement reported by Beta today, the party, which participates in Serbia's government coalition, suggested proposing to the state leadership to extend "the same diplomatic and friendly invitation" to other EU members that do not recognize Kosovo as independent - i.e., Slovakia, Romania, Cyprus, and Greece.
Chief of the Serbian diplomacy, Ivica Dacic said that Kosovo and Catalonia are linked with the fact it is about unilateral secession without a dialogue with the state they are seceding from, Serbian media reported.
Dacic, who was a guest speaker on the RTS programme “Oko” said that Catalonia does not follow the example of Yugoslavia but that one of Kosovo.
By: Nebojsa Malic
The same countries that cheered when Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union broke up and insisted on ‘independent Kosovo’ now say Catalonia’s declaration of independence is unacceptable. But they wrote the rules the Catalans are now following.
On Friday, the Catalan parliament declared independence from Spain. Madrid has refused to recognize the declaration. Anything can happen next, from a negotiated settlement of some kind to a civil war.
Serbian President, Aleksandar Vucic said Serbia takes the side of Spain, and that despite important differences in declarations of independence of Catalonia and Kosovo, Serbia has to face reality and look into future, FoNet news agency reported.
Vucic also said Kosovo is twice worse case than Catalonia.
Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said on Friday evening that Catalonia's unilateral declaration of independence had no legal effect, as far as Serbia was concerned, B92 reported.
"Serbia supports Spain's territorial integrity, and that act is not in line with the Spanish constitutional system," Dacic said.
A new rapporteur for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, a Catalan, a member of the Spanish delegation, Jordi Roca was elected as the new rapporteur for Kosovo, after the Serbian delegation managed to challenge the candidacy of Mogens Jensen (Denmark), says the head of the Serbian delegation, Marija Obradović.
“Spain is grateful to the Government of Serbia because it did not bring up that issue, as the President Aleksandar Vucic already explained,” stated Spanish Ambassador to Serbia, Miguel Fuertes Suarez.
The Spanish Ambassador made these remarks while commenting the information that Belgrade, following the plea of his country, postponed sending the letter to Brussels, asking for further explanation on the EU stance that Kosovo and Catalonia are incomparable, daily writes further.