Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic told the RTS in the "Oko" show, about the relations between Belgrade and Pristina, that the abolition of the tariffs is not in sight.
"I do not see that Pristina is thinking about acting constructively, in accordance with the time in which we live. Pristina is trying to sharpen the situation further and move away from the dialogue," Brnabic said.
Minister for European Integration Jadranka Joksimovic sees no reason for the process of Serbia's EU integration to slow down due to Pristina's moves.
Minister Joksimovic told the Belgrade based daily Vecernje
Novosti that only way for the European Union to preserve the integral
inviolability and indivisibility of the negotiation process with Serbia is to
"evacuate the monitoring of the Brussels agreement from the negotiating
platform for Chapter 35."
Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic says that "not everyone in the international community wants the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina to continue." And not everybody wants to find a solution for Kosovo and Metohija, he remarked on Friday in Belgrade.
Dacic also pointed out that some countries are playing "a double game." The minister responded in this way when asked "how it was possible that neither the US nor the EU and other major players are able to force Pristina to withdraw its taxes on Serbian goods."
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic expressed hope today the international community would continue with rational calls to Pristina to give up on the tariffs it imposed against Serbia and Serbian people, Tanjug news agency reported.
Vucic said during the meeting with Foreign Office Director General for Political Affairs Richard Moore Serbia would immediately after these anti-civilized measures are revoked, be ready to continue the talks with Pristina.
The Pristina platform (for the dialogue with Belgrade) is the third and final blow to the dialogue, PM Ana Brnabic told reporters on Friday in Belgrade. She spoke after a meeting of the Council for National Security. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic convened the meeting after the adoption of this platform.
The prime minister added that this document is contrary to common sense, and that the reaction of Serbia will, "as always, be measured."
Albanian political analyst Azem Vllasi said that the annexation of the Presevo valley to Kosovo is not a realistic option.
Vllasi, a senior communist official in Kosovo during the 1980s, said that the annexation of that part of southern Serbia is something that everyone in Kosovo wants.
He told Pristina-based KTV that President Hashim Thaci’s insisting on the annexation of the Presevo valley is not a realistic option.
A protest gathering was held at midday in Mitrovica North against the tariffs Pristina introduced on goods from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, unification of Mitrovica and seizure of Trepca, KIM Radio reports.
Protesters, including citizens, Trepca workers, students and Serb political representative said they would use all allowed means to fight for their remain and survival in Kosovo. They also conveyed a message of support to the Serbian state leadership to sustain in intentions to reach a compromise and peaceful solution to the Kosovo issue.
US Under Secretary of State David Hale says that "there is a chance that a comprehensive solution will be achieved this year, but only if the dialogue is resumed first".
He also pointed out that this solution must contribute to long-term stability in the region.
An American official who will soon take over the position of an Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia, Philip Reeker, has called on Pristina to abolish the tariffs, reports Serbian media quoting the portal nezavisen.mk.
According to the North Macedonia news portal nezavisen.mk he also called on Belgrade to focus on the strategic interest "instead of being aggressive in rejecting Kosovo."
The position of Russia and China, as well as of the US and Germany, regarding Kosovo, is completely clear and unambiguous, Chairperson of the Serbian Assembly Committee for Kosovo and Metohija Milovan Drecun said, adding it is also necessary that the US fully clarifies its position, BETA news agency reported.
Drecun told RTS over the weekend that the US position on Kosovo is crucial - "whether they want a compromise solution or will continue pressure on Belgrade to recognize Kosovo."