Serbia’s internal state – primarily when it comes to the opposition, is the result of foreign services’ attempts to complicate Serbia’s position on the issue of negotiations – the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic said last night on the Hit Tvit talk-show on Belgrade based TV Pink.
US Ambassador to Serbia Kyle Scott warned on Monday that the status quo in the Balkans is not sustainable.
There will be no better time than the present to negotiate an agreement the ambassador wrote on his Twitter account over a retweet of State Department official Matthew Palmer’s speech at a gathering in Pristina on June 12.
Belgrade based daily Danas reports that US diplomat Matthew Palmer called the Serbian opposition to participate in the next parliamentary elections, quoting unnamed diplomatic sources.
Danas reports that Palmer told the opposition leaders that Washington does not agree with a possible boycott of elections because that would violate democratic principles.
The Kosovo authorities marked the 20th anniversary of the withdrawal of Serbian security forces at an event in central Pristina which was attended by former US officials and NATO commanders, while Director of the office for KiM Marko Djuric, a Belgrade official described the event as "the dance of the vampires," the Beta news agency reported.
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Palmer said on Monday that Washington wants Pristina to revoke the 100 percent tariffs imposed on goods from Serbia so that both sides can return to negotiations and reach an agreement for the sake of the entire region, reported Beta news agency.
Speaking after a meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Palmer said that an agreement between Belgrade and Pristina would make the European future of Serbia and Kosovo and the Western Balkans region easier to achieve.
Serbia should recognise Kosovo as an independent, sovereign country and Kosovo should do the same, said Matthew Palmer, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State.
"The talks between Belgrade and Pristina are not about the border change, but about recognition. Serbia should recognise Kosovo as an independent, sovereign country, and Kosovo should do the same," Palmer said in Delfi, at the fourth Delphi Economic Forum, Danas daily reported.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic offered the United States to recognize Kosovo's independence immediately, and the exchange of territory is now on the table, Vuk Jeremic, a leader of the People's Party and a member of the opposition Alliance for Serbia after the Washington meeting, said in an interview with Voice of America. The first and most important meeting, he says, was in the State Department with Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Palmer.
Belgrade based daily Danas learns that Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Palmer should be included in the "mediation mission " of Belgrade and Pristina.
He should take over one of the key roles in future negotiations of the two sides, Danas learns.
Interview with Matthew Palmer, acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State of the United States of America. The interview was taken during the Bled Strategic Forum 2018, which took place on 10-11 September in Bled, Slovenia, where Palmer was one of the speakers.
Acting Deputy Assistant US State Secretary Matthew Palmer says that America expects that Belgrade and Pristina, despite problems, continue their dialogue and he hopes for a normalization of relations by the end of the year.
Palmer told the Voice of America in Serbian language that America does not "put special pressure on Belgrade" in the direction of normalizing relations, that is, they make it on all participants in the negotiation process.