Vulin: Priština institutions in Kosovo are parallel

Source: Beta, RTS, Tanjug

BELGRADE -- Government Office for Kosovo chief Aleksandar Vulin said on Monday it was Priština's institutions in Kosovo that were illegal, rather than those of Belgrade.

Aleksandar Vulin (Tanjug, file)

According to Vulin, Kosovo cannot be independent until the Serbian government and people decide on this, while "the primary task of the state is to enable Serbs in the southern province to live a better and more just life".
"Serbs will never recognize Kosovo and it will never be independent without the will of Serbs. So far, Serbs from the southern province were merely observers, and that will not happen again. They have a right to be heard, and they will be, both directly and through the Office," he told the state broadcaster RTS. Vulin said the new government would change the attitude towards Kosovo Serbs, who were treated by the previous government "as a third party who needed to be sent difficult and important messages."

He added that the government would be deciding about the EU-sponsored Belgrade-Priština talks, that are expected to resume in September, and that President Tomislav Nikolić will have the main role in that decision, along with "absolute participation".

Vulin also note that there must be agreement in Serbia "that it goes without saying that Kosovo is Serbia".

To that end, he appealed for the term "parallel institutions" not to be used to describe the Serbian institutions in Kosovo, considering that they were formed in line with the Constitution and are financed from Belgrade. Those financed from Priština, i.e., the Kosovo Albanian authorities, are in fact parallel, he added.

Vulin also told RTS that the new government was "still learning" about the content of the agreements reached so far in the Kosovo dialogue, and that "we are still coming across some papers and some things that were agreed that surprise us".

"Serbia is a serious state and it respects its own regulations - there are things that we think could have been done and signed differently, but we respect the seal of Serbia," said he.

Vulin also stated that he was expecting "excellent cooperation" with PM Ivica Dačić, and described the new cabinet as "the government of national salvation".