Referendum not in Serbia’s interest, minister says

Source: Tanjug

BELGRADE -- Serbia’s Minister for Kosovo Goran Bogdanović said on Wednesday that a possible referendum in northern Kosovo would not be in the interest of the state.

Goran Bogdanović (Beta, file)

He added that it could additionally complicate the situation in that part of the province.
Bogdanović said in a statement for Tanjug that he was rather apprehensive that by taking these moves, the citizens from northern Kosovo were coming into conflict with their own state, since the holding of such a referendum was not in the state's interest at the moment.

“If you know in advance what would be the answer to the question (as to whether Serbs in northern Kosovo accept Kosovo's institutions), then I am of the opinion that you should not be wasting your time and energy on a referendum. Such moves could provoke a reaction from the international community and Albanians,” Bogdanović warned.

“If anyone wanted Kosovo's institutions, we would not have set up roadblocks in July 2011 so as to prevent Priština from establishing its own institutions,” said the minister.

He said that the referendum was evidently in the interest of certain political parties in Belgrade which wanted to complicate the situation in the country even further.

Commenting on the fact that local representatives of the Democratic Party (DS) failed to appear at today's meeting in Leposavić, Bogdanović said that the DS representatives did not want to take part in politicking, in somebody's game aimed at making the situation even worse.

“Our stand is clear. We will fight for our interests throughout Kosovo and Metohija by peaceful means, through dialogue,” he stressed.