Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic pointed out on Sunday that the Albanians will try to bring the whole international community to a "fait accompli."
Vucic made this statement after Ramush Haradinaj said that "the border between Kosovo and Albania" was disappearing.
The response of Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) to Pristina's 100% customs fees could be a request to exclude Kosovo from the CEFTA agreement, reports portal B92.
Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia-Herzegovina Mirko Sarovic said, commenting on Pristina's measures, aimed also against goods from central Serbia, that there was no need to resort to countermeasures - but that BiH's response could be a request for the exclusion of Kosovo from agreements that guarantee free trade.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who met with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Paris yesterday, understood the latest moves of Pristina as a major obstacle in further continuation of the dialogue, writes Belgrade-based daily Blic.
According to Blic, during the meeting, prior to the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, held at the initiative of the German Chancellor, Vucic particularly insisted on Pristina's decision to increase customs duties on goods from Serbia and BiH.
Radio Television Serbia reports that Adriatik Stavileci, Kosovo customs spokesman told the media in Pristina that Kosovo Customs Service has begun to apply the decision of the Kosovo government on additional taxation of 10 percent for imports of products from central Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Stavileci say that this is a volume of goods worth hundreds of millions of euros during the year.
The European Union has said Pristina’s decision to raise import taxes on goods from Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina in response to what it feels is Serbia’s destructive behaviour, was unexpected and the bloc has demanded an immediate explanation of the move, media reported on Wednesday.
The 10 percent higher import taxes were imposed on milk and milk products, water, biscuits, construction materials and fruit juices.
The US Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina told Radio Free Europe that the US supports the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and that there are no parallels between Kosovo, Serbia and Republika Srpska (RS).
"What we support when it comes to Kosovo is definitely a dialogue that is being conducted, which we believe should be conducted until a solution is reached that will be the result of a joint agreement between both sides. We certainly welcome the role of the EU in those talks," US Ambassador to BiH Maureen Cormack told RFE.
The speech Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic held over the weekend in Kosovo triggered fierce reactions among politicians in Bosnia and Herzegovina, who assessed it as “shameful” and “scandalous.”
During his two-day visit to Kosovo, Aleksandar Vucic addressed the Serb community inhabiting the Serb-dominated northern part of the divided town of Mitrovica.
BiH Presidency Member from Republika Srpska (RS) Mladen Ivanic says today that that he is not dissatisfied at all, as far as he is concerned, that Kosovo Foreign Minister Behgjet Pacolli did not come to Banja Luka to an informal meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the South East European Cooperation Process (SEECP), reports Serbian media.
Participants in the process of co-operation have been identified by members of the SEECP, and adds that Pristina has been a member of this process since 2014, along with, as he points out, the consent of all.
France, like Germany, is against the "delimitation" between Belgrade and Pristina, reports today Belgrade based daily Vecernje Novosti.
Vecernje Novosti sources point out that the opposition was expressed to any change in borders or administrative lines in the region during a conference of ambassadors held last week, which was attended by French President Emmanuel Macron. Paris's position is even tougher than Berlin's position, the daily reports.
Kosovo Foreign Minister, Behgjet Pacolli, cancelled his trip to Banja Luka, after “threats and obstacles” he encountered following the invitation to attend a meeting of the regional foreign ministers in that Bosnian city, the minister said on Tuesday.
Pacolli was invited to attend the informal meeting of foreign ministers of the South-East Europe Cooperation Process (SEECP) in Bosnia's northwestern city of Banja Luka, but his presence was strongly objected to by Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik.