Serbia would have to find another president and prime minister, who would be willing to violate the Constitution and talk with representatives of Pristina as representatives of an independent state, said Tomislav Nikolic.
Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said today that the EU would expect from Belgrade to complete negotiations with Pristina and to fully regulate its position on Kosovo.
BELGRADE -- The permits for visits by Serbian officials to Kosovo and Metohija will in the future be obtained through liaison officers.
This is not "the first step towards the establishment of diplomatic relations," Belgrade's liaison officer in Priština Dejan Pavićević has been quoted as saying by the Belgrade-based daily Danas.
From the praise of the EU and US officials on account of the recent visit of Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, to Serbia, despite Rama’s statement in the middle of Belgrade that "Kosovo's independence is a reality," could be understood that the (un) diplomatic incident will not jeopardize the continued political dialogue Belgrade and Pristina.
Moreover, the British Ambassador in Pristina, Ian Cliff warned yesterday that without the continuation of dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade, the security of the region will come into question.
Kosovo Foreign Minister, Enver Hoxhaj, said in an interview for the leading Slovakian paper Pravda that Serbia has already recognised reality of an independent Kosovo. With regards to his visit to Belgrade in October, Hoxhaj said that the presence of a Kosovo foreign minister in a conference of regional’s chiefs of diplomacy is a natural step in improvement of relations between Belgrade and Pristina. “It was an informal meeting but I nevertheless received an invitation like all the rest.
Belgrade’s liaison officer in Pristina, Dejan Pavicevic, felt provoked by a statement of Kosovo’s chief negotiator in dialogue with Serbia, Edita Tahiri. As a sign of protest, Pavicevic tried to walk out of the roundtable organised to present the report titled “Civilised Monotony” about implementation of Kosovo-Serbia agreement. The report has been a joint production of BIRN Kosovo, the Center for Transparency, Research and Accountability, CRTA, from Serbia, and Internews Kosova.
Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister, Edita Tahiri, was in Brussels on 4 and 5 November where she took part in meetings with Serbian side, facilitated by EU, and discussed issued on energy and vehicle insurance. The parties formed working groups which are tasked in ensuring full implementation of agreement on energy. The delegations also spoke about the issue of vehicle insurance in the function of free movement of citizens and a follow-up meeting on the matter is expected to take place soon.
The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, today met Catherine Ashton who is concluding her mandate as EU High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security. Thaci praised Ashton’s role in achieving the Brussels Agreement just as former Serbian Prime Minister, Ivica Dacic, did yesterday. “I met Baroness Ashton today in Brussels to discuss the political situation and hail her extraordinary role in the achievement of the Brussels Agreement”, Thaci wrote on Facebook.
The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, said today in Brussels that he assured the EU High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security, Catherine Ashton, the European Union and all allies, that Kosovo will continue the process of dialogue.
In a press conference following his meeting with Ashton, Thaci said, “Agreement with Serbia was not easy but was necessary”. He added, “Today, Serbs from the north are integrating into the society and institutions. Today, our peoples are looking to the future of Euro-Atlantic integration, which has not happened before.”
The conference of the foreign ministers and ministers of economy of the Western Balkans countries has just started. They are expected to discuss regional cooperation and good economic governance.
According to Kosovo’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs the Conference is continuance of the Berlin Summit led by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in August of this year.
Ernst Reichel, Former German Ambassador in Pristina and current Envoy of German Chancellor Angela Merkel for Balkans, hailed yesterday’s developments, Kosovo's membership at International Olympic Committee (IOC) as well as traveling of the two Kosovo ministers to a regional meeting in Belgrade.