"If northern Kosovo is attacked - will we react," asks FM

SManalysis

It would be a great success if Serbia and Kosovo came to a compromise, because Kosovo is "within the reach of realizing its independence," says Ivica Dacic.

SOURCE: TANJUG FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2018

The foreign minister reiterated that Serbia will never recognize Kosovo but wants a compromise solution.

According to him, Kosovo is within reach of realizing its independence, while Serbia is surviving thanks to its traditional friends, because "the international community" thinks of the Kosovo issue as being resolved and "does not want to talk about it."

"Even if somebody said there'd be no EU membership (for Serbia), Serbia cannot accept the unilateral act of Kosovo. I wonder if everyone agrees with what I said. If they agree then let's go along that path, rather than have them say tomorrow 'Vucic and Dacic lead a policy of confronting the EU'," Dacic told TV Pink on Friday.

Dacic added that the people in Serbia must be well informed and prepared for what will come. "What will happen if there is an attack on northern Kosovo, are we all ready to react and participate? NATO said that if someone enters Kosovo, they will be consider an attack on NATO," the head of the Serbian diplomacy said.

He added that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Serbia had been greatly honored in Moscow on May 9, and noted that Western countries do not look at that with enthusiasm.

Dacic said he supports the position of the Serbian Orthodox Church that there should be no independence and no partition of Kosovo - but then wondered if this was "possible and realistic."

"Let somebody say how we will fight so that there is no independence - by suffering, by war or by refusal to enter the EU in the next ten years? The situation is very complex and everyone should think about it," he said.

Asked whether it is realistic to sign a legally binding agreement with Pristina by the end of the year, he replied this would be difficult to achieve because the positions remain very far apart.

"The West is forcing Pristina to remain in the current positions. And when you mention delineation in the West, they will not listen to it. We need to be aware of the consequences of all our decisions," Dacic said.

According to his, Serbia's only chance is the US administration, i.e., to explain to them that there can be no stability in the region unless a solution is found for Kosovo that will satisfy both Serbian and Albanian interests.