BELGRADE - Jean Asselborn, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Luxembourg, which is taking over the EU presidency in the second half of the year, said Wednesday that those who dreamt of a ‘Greater Albania’ should forget all about it.

Asselborn said for Belgrade-based daily Novosti that the latest events (terrorist attacks in Republika Srpska and Macedonia) had shown that the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina was not the most important problem in the Balkans right now and that the current situation in Macedonia should not be allowed to draw out too long.

We need to find a solution urgently, otherwise we are heading straight into a crisis, said Asselborn.

Asselborn stressed that Serbia had fully deserved to finally start EU membership negotiations.

With its current pro-European government, Serbia has done many things by making steps in the right direction. All agree that I should do everything I can so that we can open one or more negotiating chapters in the second half of the year, which will be very important to both Serbia and the EU.

Asselborn stressed that he had always been doing his best and was a great friend of Serbia’s. I will, of course, continue to be your friend during our presidency and do my best to have the chapters opened, he added.