Whether or not Serbia will free itself in 2019 of the shackles of the Kosovo problem - the alpha and omega of its foreign and domestic policies - depends largely on the diplomatic capabilities of its president.

The unresolved conflict with Kosovo’s Albanians places Serbia on a cross between East and West, while on the domestic front the fact that the country is a candidate for EU membership is used as an excuse: how can a country reform while its national sovereignty and integrity are endangered?

Serbian Foreign Affairs Minister Ivica Dacic said he respects the fact the US is exerting pressure on Pristina to revoke tariffs on the goods from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Tanjug news agency reports.

However, he does not believe the US would succeed in making Pristina to do so.

Dacic told Voice of America that Ramush Haradinaj and Hashim Thaci play different roles in negotiations on Kosovo and it us unclear “who is whose cop”.

Leader of Peoples’ Party Vuk Jeremic said today in Brussels that the delineation between Serbia and Kosovo, as a part of possible solution represents “a poisoned pill” for Western Balkans and the future of Europe, FoNet news agency reports.

State Secretary in the Serbian Foreign Affairs Ministry, Veljko Odalovic said the UN Security Council is a natural place for the talks on Kosovo and Metohija.

He added, Serbia would insist to reach an agreement on mandatory periodical reporting on the situation in Kosovo. Odalovic also noted the situation in Kosovo and Metohija is not good and it is in the interest of SC member-states and other UN members to discuss about that.

US Ambassador to Serbia, Kyle Scott in a meeting with Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said the US is continuously urging Pristina authorities to revoke tariffs on goods from Serbia, BETA news agency reports.

He also noted the tariffs represent an obstacle to the dialogue, press statement of the Serbian Government reads. According to the statement, Ambassador Scot said US supports Belgrade’s efforts to normalize relations with Pristina and remain ready to help in reaching a sustainable solution that would enable stability and progress of the entire region.

On this day 20 years ago, a peace conference on Kosovo and Metohija began in Rambouillet, near Paris. The epilogue is known - after 17 days of negotiations that failed, on March 24, 1999, NATO started bombing the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (consisting of Serbia and Montenegro).

Chairman of the Serbian National Assembly Committee for Kosovo and Metohija, Milovan Drecun told RTS morning news edition, that UN Secretary General report on Kosovo says the situation there is bad and Kosovo achieved no progress.

Drecun said, the UN SG report depicts a realistic situation in Kosovo. “These reports are rather balanced lately, and they are one of the biggest political obstacles on the international scene for Pristina to attempt to complete the ethnic cleansing of the Serbian people and disable any agreement with Belgrade,” Drecun said.

Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Irinej said that the division of Kosovo and new borders, some are talking about, for the Serbian Orthodox Church, but also for the majority of the population are unacceptable, BETA news agency reports.

Patriarch noted that “Serbia without Kosovo and Metohija is not Serbia”

“As if you would take away a heart from a person, the person is no longer alive,” Patriarch Irinej told RIA Novosti during his visit to Moscow.

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said today Pristina continues undertaking unilateral acts that do not contribute to the regional stability, adding she hopes the world would recognize who is constructive and who is not, Tanjug news agency reported.

Commenting on Pristina’s tariffs and decision to adopt Trepca statue, Brnabic said Pristina is doing opposite to what would bring Belgrade and Pristina back to dialogue.

A suspect, Shaban Berisha (47) confessed he eradicated by an excavator, a memorial plaque dedicated to the missing journalists Djuro Slavuj and Ranko Perenic, on 30 January 2019, Djakovica police report said. The report also said the act was “ethnically motivated,” Radio KIM reports.

“The police carried out an investigation on 4 February 2019 and discovered that the plaque was intentionally removed by an excavator and thrown away 20 meters from the spot, it was placed (…). The suspect and an excavator have been identified,” police report added.