K. Albanians oppose new status talks

The Kosovo government and political parties in Priština reject all possibilities of new status negotiations with Serbia regarding the status of Kosovo.

This is according to Albanian language daily Zeri, that quotes Kosovo Albanian government spokesman Memli Krasniqi as saying that “the Kosovo government will never agree to negotiations with Belgrade regarding Kosovo’s status. The status of our country is irreversible.”

Reacting to a report in Belgrade daily Blic yesterday that the government in Belgrade was waiting for the opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the legality of the unilateral declaration of independence in order to call a meeting of the UN Security Council for restarting negotiations on Kosovo’s status, Krasniqi said that “there can only be negotiations with Serbia regarding other questions that are in the joint interest of the two countries.”

The opposition in Kosovo is also against new talks, stating that “Serbia itself should give up on this strategy.”

“No one in Kosovo can return the situation to the period before the talks with Serbia,” Secretary General of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo Burim Ramadani said.

Political analyst Ilir Deda said that negotiations with Serbia are possible, “but only regarding issues such as European integration”.

“There will be talks for issues that Serbia and Kosovo need to solve in order to enter the European Union. The international community will not condition Serbia to recognize Kosovo, but it will demand a normalization of relations between Serbia and Kosovo,” he said.

This analyst told Zeri that the EU will not allow “Serbia or Kosovo” to move ahead in European integrations “without some sort of mutual agreement”.