Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hashim Thaçi, said in an interview for Tirana-based television Top Channel that political battles in a democracy need to be fought inside the institutions and not in the streets. He said no one has justified the controversial statement of the Serbian Minister Aleksandar Jablanovic but added that violence against the state is even more unacceptable.

“I think the protest organizers did not damage the government but the state of Kosovo. They did not damage political opponents but the state of Kosovo. The more stones the opposition uses, the fewer votes it will have from the citizens,” said Thaci.

Thaci also reiterated that the Trepca mining complex will not be discussed in Pristina-Belgrade dialogue. “Trepca is Kosovo’s property, Kosovo’s asset,” he stressed.