“A key topic of debate in Belgrade is the ‘land swap’ proposal; a ‘comprehensive deal’ that would allow Serbia regain disputed territory (North Kosovo) in exchange for Serbia recognising Kosovo as a state. It is, however, not clear whether the Vucic-Thaci talks are going anywhere; nor whether any deal could be sold in Kosovo.

Serbia won’t succeed unless it adopts a clear policy on Kosovo and won’t achieve anything unless it recognizes Kosovo, Sir Robert Francis Cooper, a British diplomat, former mediator in the Belgrade – Pristina dialogue and a member of the European Council on Foreign Relations, told TV N1 yesterday. Addressing the 8^th Belgrade Security Forum conference, Cooper added that how and when Serbia would do that was up to it, but that should be done at a certain point. The three-day conference “Finding Answers together to the New Normal”, organized by Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence,

By: Robert Cooper Opinions cost nothing, but it is not our opinions that matter - let's not take sides before we know what has been proposed. “An intellectual hatred is the worst”, says W B Yeats, “So let her think opinions are accursed.” That’s what I used to think when I was involved in diplomacy myself, in a small way. It’s easier to have an opinion than to make a decision, or to take responsibility for proposing something new.