“Elements of solution for Kosovo are still on table”

SOURCE: BETA, TANJUG
BRUSSELS, BELGRADE -- Belgrade and Priština have discussed “elements of a possible solution” for northern Kosovo several times. These elements are still on the negotiating table.

(Beta/AP, file)

 

(Beta/AP, file)
This is according to EU High Representative Catherine Ashton’s Spokeswoman Maja Kocijančič.

She did not confirm or deny Serbian First Deputy PM Aleksandar Vučić’s statement that Brussels had made a very bad “take it or leave it” offer to Belgrade and said that the Belgrade and Priština negotiating teams were consulting their colleagues and “they should inform Ashton about their decisions in a few days”.

When asked to confirm that a “take it or leave it” type of paper was offered to the Belgrade delegation during the eighth round of the talks on April 2 in Brussels, Kocijančič said that the “only thing I can say at the moment is that the delegations have spoken about the elements of a possible solution a number of times in the dialogue”.

The top Serbian officials at the moment do not have a response to the EU’s conditions, PM Ivica Dačić and Vučić confirmed after they had returned from Brussels.

Both Belgrade and Priština are under time pressure, as well as the EU bearing in mind that it has missed the determined deadlines.

In the meantime, Priština keeps repeating that Belgrade is responsible for the failure to reach an agreement and refuses to back down from its requests in the slightest. The most disputable request for Serbia is that a community of Serb municipalities should have neither legislative nor executive powers.

Kosovo PM Hashim Thaci said on Thursday he was optimistic and that a an agreement on the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia was possible.

“I cannot tell you what our response will be at the moment because the top state officials will consult on it again,” Dačić said on Wednesday.

Vučić said that Serbia needed to decide between two equally disastrous solutions in the next three or four days – to accept or reject a very bad offer on Kosovo.

He confirmed on Wednesday evening that he had offered his resignation after it had turned out that Brussels was offering Serbia a “poor and unfair” take it or leave it type of a plan.