Serbian Foreign Affairs Minister Ivica Dacic has responded to a UK advisory to its citizens not to travel to northern, predominantly Serb, part of Kosovo, "because of crime."
Dacic said on Thursday that he, too, is warning the citizens of Serbia not to travel to the UK because of major political instability in that country, that is currently experiencing "major political chaos."
President Aleksandar Vucic told Prva TV on Tuesday that he would like Serbia to lobby more around the world for resolving the issue of Kosovo. So far, this has not been done, he added.
Vucic earlier in the day in Belgrade received representatives of the German Bundestag, Peter Beyer and Christian Schmidt. Apart from bilateral relations, economic cooperation, the problems in the dialogue with Pristina was also discussed.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met today with members of the German Bundestag, Peter Beyer and Christian Schmidt, Tanjug news agency reported.
They discussed bilateral relations, economic cooperation and problems in the dialogue with Pristina. Speaking about problems in the dialogue with Pristina, Vucic emphasized that Serbia is fully committed to the dialogue aiming to reach a compromise solution, while Pristina has blocked it by introducing the tariffs on goods from Serbia.
Information that the Serbian Government has hired US firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP to lobby for it in Washington are not accurate, Tanjug news agency reported.
The news agency has learnt from the sources close to the Serbian Government, the talks with that firm are ongoing and relate to the eventual representation of Serbia in an arbitrage in Strasbourg in relation to the violation of the CEFTA agreement by Pristina.
The Serbian Government has hired the Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP firm to lobby for its interests in Washington, the Voice of America reported on Tuesday.
According to a document filed with the US Justice Department on March 27, that firm will lobby for Serbia with all interested American parties (including US government officials) on issues of regional cooperation which include Serbia and Kosovo.
Former US special envoy in the Contact Group (CG), Frank Wisner assessed that a decade after the CG tried to resolve the Kosovo issue, the situation on the ground has not changed, despite of Kosovo declaring independence in 2008, RTS reported.
He added, deadlines for reaching the final Belgrade-Pristina agreement should not be set, instead a lasting and compromise solution should be found through the dialogue.
Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic says she doesn't expect Kosovo courts to deal with war crimes cases they have taken over from EULEX in a serious manner.
Speaking in Belgrade on Monday, Brnabic said that political leaders in Pristina are preventing Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija from achieving their basic human rights.
Former US Ambassador to Serbia and Chair of the East-West Institute Cameron Munter opined that solution to the Kosovo issue can not be “dictated from aside” but it must be an outcome of an agreement by Belgrade and Pristina, RTS reported.
Munter added it depends upon Belgrade and Pristina only when would the negotiations continue, which he deemed crucial for the better future of citizens in Serbia and Kosovo. He also said the format, content and outcome of the negotiations to the greatest extend depend upon the decisions of the two sides.
German diplomat Wolfgang Ischinger in an interview for RTS said the EU perspective for Serbia and other countries in the region should be open, while the enlargement process should continue.
President Aleksandar Vucic said Serbia has a political problem with the Albanians in Kosovo but fights to preserve peace and stability. He added Serbia would "have the strength to protect the Serbs." Vucic made these remarks in the town of Secanj, he was visiting as a part of his ongoing “Future of Serbia” campaign, BETA news agency reported.