There are no signs that the format of the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina could change any time soon, said Serbia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Ivica Dacic on Sunday, adding that Serbia is ready to continue the talks but only after Pristina abolishes its 100 per cent tariffs on Serbian products.

“There are no talks from new starting positions,” Dacic told RTS, the public broadcaster.

Kosovo’s Prime Minister Ramus Haradinaj recently said that the Kosovo Assembly had on December 15 formed a negotiation team which will be led by his deputy Fatmir Ljimaj and the leader of the opposition Kosovo Social Democratic Party (SDP), Spend Ahmeti.

When asked whether it is acceptable that Ljimaj is the new negotiator for the dialogue with Serbia, Dacic said ‘of course he is not’.

NATO found recently that Ljimaj was part of the so-called ‘Drenicka Group’, which stands accused of crimes against civilians.

“Regarding the format we are talking about, it is clear. It is the President of Serbia (Aleksandar) Vucic and the President of Kosovo (Hashim) Thaci,” said Dacic.

When asked whether the decision-making process on Kosovo should be returned under the auspices of the United Nations, he said that the dialogue is now mediated by the European Union but that every agreement will have to be verified by the UN Security Council.

That is why it is important what UN Security Council members, Russia, China, the US, think, he said.

Dacic said that the idea of a territorial division of Kosovo which would make clear what belongs to Serbs and what to Albanians seems fair.

He also commented on the letters US President Donald Trump sent to Vucic and Thaci, saying that they mentioned the need for compromise.