Belgrade: "Demarcation talk absurd, there's no border with Kosovo

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It is "absurd and nonsensical" to talk about a demarcation between Serbia and Kosovo considering there is no border, "nor will there ever be one for us."
Source: B92 Wednesday, May 18, 2016 | 11:15

Marko Djuric (Tanjug, file)

Marko Djuric, director of the Serbian government's Office for Kosovo and Metohija, said this in an interview for B92 TV on Tuesday, and added that as far as Belgrade is concerned, "there can only possibly be conversations that help people circulate and not wait in lines."
"Pristina is stopping vehicles, creating queues in order to prove their statehood. That is an administrative line (between Kosovo and central Serbia) and that is all we can talk about," Djuric said.

He stressed that "this government received a difficult inheritance" when to comes to Kosovo, "and has been making an effort all the time to alleviate what has been left to it, including the transfer of the dialogue from the UN to the EU."

Asked whether this means New York is the right place for Serbia to present its positions on Kosovo, Djuric replied that "the entire world public learns about the real situation only in that way."

"The position of Kosovo and Metohija is based on Resolution 1244 of the UN (SC) and therefore New York is the place to talk about it, and the place from which we inform the world about the problems in Kosovo," said the official.

He stressed that Belgrade considers announcements about a change of format in the negotiations with Pristina "unacceptable," and that Serbia "expects more from the international community."

"If we agreed to solve everything at the table, then someone can't be pushing Kosovo to UNESCO, to international organizations behind the back, while we pretend not to see it. The talks have never been easy, we will speak with legitimately elected representatives of (ethnic) Albanians, but it's important for us that what has been agreed starts to be implemented," Djuric said.

Serbia is also ready to talk about "the future of the dialogue," he stressed, and said that "trust in the interlocutors has been shaken":

"They have not shown readiness to implement anything. All they do is use the opportunity to exaggerate nationalist rhetoric."

According to Djuric, "international factors, too, must prove their credibility in this situation."

"They must ask that what has been agreed is implemented. The Community of Serb Municipalities must be formed in line with that - we are neither interested, nor obligated by any decision of the constitutional court in the province. Both we and Pristina are obligated by the signed agreements, everything else is cheap tricks," Djuric said.

Asked "how Serbia went from the Brussels 5-0 to 0-2 and Kosovo's membership in UEFA and FIFA," this official advised against talking about the August negotiations "in a cynical manner."

"This is something else, this was never a part of the negotiations, here international law in violated, UEFA's and FIFA's statutes as well," he said, adding that both the state and the Serbian Football Association (FSS) would "continue to fight against it."