“Intl. community must respect reality in Kosovo”

Source: Tanjug

KOSOVSKA VITINA -- Serbian government’s Office for Kosovo Director said Wednesday that the international community needed to respect the reality on the ground.

He explained that the platform for Kosovo had shown that Serbia would respect its Constitution and laws as well as the reality on the ground, but that it expected the same from the international community.
"We expect the international community to understand and accept that Serbs in Kosovo recognize only one state and will not recognize another," Vulin told reporters while visiting the village of Vrbovac.

"The platform is our message that we want a durable, just and peaceful solution, we want Serbs to remain in the province and have what many other ethnic groups in Europe have demanded and received," he noted.

According to Vulin, the platform is a message that Serbia has not given up on its people in Kosovo and does not divide them into those living south and north of the Ibar river.

He added he expected the Kosovo Albanians and the international community to consider the stance of Serbia and the Kosovo Serbs, as "there can be no just solution and lasting peace otherwise."

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U.S. ambassador: No trade in Kosovo territory

Source: Večernje novosti

BELGRADE -- It should be clear to everyone that there will be no trade of the Kosovo territory, U.S. Ambassador to Serbia Michael Kirby told daily Večernje novosti.

Michael Kirby (Beta, file)

“This should be taken off the table. I am happy with the talks led by the two prime ministers. I believe that staying on this course will lead us to a good place,” he said when asked how the issue of northern Kosovo should be solved.
“Over the years, borders in Europe have been changing a lot. We think it would be the best to stop. If you do this with Kosovo now, there is a question why not somewhere else, what about Bosnia-Herzegovina, border with Hungary, Bulgaria. Where will it end? It’s a box we would rather not open,” Kirby was quoted as saying.

When asked to comment on a draft platform for Kosovo presented by Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić, the ambassador said that he had no official comment because this was not an official document yet.

He stressed that the U.S. had good and open cooperation with the current Serbian government.

When asked whether Serbia should abandon its EU pathway and turn to Russia and China, the U.S. ambassador said:

“You are already in Europe. You cannot take Serbia and relocate it to some other part of the world. What other model, aside from the EU, you have at your disposal? Switzerland? You do not have banks. Norway? You do not have oil and natural gas. Russia? You are not a nation of 150 million people, you have no natural resources. Staying on the sidelines will not help,” Kirby concluded.