Pristina should withdraw taxes (on goods from central Serbia) and enable dialogue with Belgrade to continue. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said this in Belgrade on Wednesday.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Conte was asked by Tanjug how Italy looks at the Pristina's current policy, "which is not ready for any concessions, constructiveness towards Belgrade, or toward the international community," and replied:

"I repeat, in my opinion, that unilateral initiatives initiated by Kosovo lead nowhere. Their measure, the process is not leading anywhere. I think that the only way to speed up the path toward the EU is dialogue, all sides must be wise. I stress once again, it was an exceptionally wise decision made by the Serbian government concerning (reaction to) Pristina's measure."

As he added, he will talk with the EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini about "future developments" - and about how Italy, "as an ambassador of Serbia in the EU, can realistically and concretely represent it."

Conte confirmed Italy's support to Serbia on its EU path and to the efforts Vucic has invested in reaching a compromise on Kosovo and Metohija, which, as he said, would be facilitated also by the EU.

The Italian prime minister expressed strong support to the reform process in Serbia and said he was certain they would "contribute to accelerating negotiations with the EU."

Conte recalled that Serbia and Italy celebrate 140 years of diplomatic relations this year, as well as ten years of strategic partnership, and pointed out to "impressive relations and intensive exchange of goods."

See at: https://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics.php?yyyy=2019&mm=03&dd=06&nav_id=106349