Brnabic instead of Vucic in New York (Danas)
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic is not going to the annual session of the United Nations General Assembly next week, instead Prime Minister Ana Brnabic will go to New York, finds out Belgrade-based daily Danas from the circles close to the top state authorities.
According to interlocutors of Danas, Vucic was supposed to attend this multi-day event, as he did last year, but this time he is not able due to other duties. Danas recalls that the president of Serbia said last week: "I'm not quite sure yet, but probably Brnabic will go, not me, to New York, I just want to be more in the country, I cannot be out of the country all the time" he said.
Danas unofficially finds out that the date of Vucic's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin has not yet been determined, although earlier it was claimed that this meeting should be organized this month.
In the meantime, some Pristina media reported that Kosovo President Hashim Thaci will meet with US President Donald Tramp next week, but his cabinet did not want to comment for Danas on such allegations.
Diplomatic sources of Danas claim that the meeting between Thaci and Trump would be a "big blow" to the official Belgrade, since the president of Serbia and foreign minister Ivica Dacic have been leading a diplomatic offensive when Kosovo is in question, and they do not hide the great desire for the US president to visit Belgrade by the end of this year. It is considered that the Trump administration could play a very important role in finding the final solution for the more decennial problem of Kosovo, writes the daily. In this context, it is claimed, "much will depend on the outcome of the upcoming Congressional elections."
Tahiri: I disagree with Thaci
Former head of Pristina's negotiating team, Edita Tahiri, told Danas that she disagrees with the Kosovo president's statement that "the West cannot force Serbia to recognize Kosovo".
"What I think is that Serbia cannot become a member of the EU before recognizing the independent state of Kosovo in its existing borders, in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo and the decision of the International Court of Justice that the declaration of independence of Kosovo was in accordance with international law of 2010, because good neighbourly relations are a key criterion for joining the European Union," Tahiri said.