Ditmar Nitan, Deputy of the German Bundestag from the Social-Democratic Party (CDU), said for Deutche Welle that Serbia could become an EU member the earliest within five years and that at the final stage of its membership, Belgrade will have to face the fact that EU membership is possible only with the recognition of Kosovo.

Asked if Serbia’s membership in EU requires explicit recognition of Kosovo, Nitan answered: “Yes, it has to come to this, but in the end.”

Gradual normalization and approximation of modus vivendi should not be reached hastily. It should flow step-by-step and both parties should do their homework,” said Nitan.

“Anyone that will be leading in Belgrade five or six years from now will be facing the unavoidable: membership in EU is possible only with the recognition of Kosovo. We will see how this recognition will look like,” he said.

Ditmar Nitan spoke also about Serbia’s position towards Russia during the developments in Ukraine and about tomorrow’s Conference for Western Balkans.