5th round ends without agreement, next on March 4

Ashton: PMs are satisfied about progress and so am I EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton has said after the completion of the fifth round of political talks between Belgrade and Pristina that she and Serbian and Kosovo Prime Ministers Ivica Dacic and Hasim Taci are satisfied about the progress achieved. The prime ministers are satisfied about the progress and so am I, Ashton said in a release Wednesday. The fifth round of the Brussels-based talks ended at about 4 p.m. Wednesday without any kind of agreement reached and the new round is scheduled for March 4. Dacic: Certain progress achieved Serbia's Prime Minister Ivica Dacic said in Brussels on Wednesday, after the 5th round of the political talks between Belgrade and Pristina, that an agreement concerning institutions in northern Kosovo had not been achieved, but that there had been certain progress and that Serbia put forth a proposal regarding an association of Serb municipalities. "We will not allow a dismantling of institutions until we reach an agreement on what will replace them," Dacic told reporters after a meeting with Kosovo's Prime Minister Hasim Taci and EU High Representative Catherine Ashton. The issue of the association of Serb municipalities includes many other complex issues, like the judiciary, security, healthcare and education, he explained. "However, we are satisfied that the subject is now discussed seriously," Dacic remarked. The discussion focused solely on the association of Serb municipalities, and all other issues are less important compared to that, he stated.Dacic pointed out he followed the platform and resolution on Kosovo during the meeting, adding that the talks will continue on March 4, The international community's expectations that the 5th round would bring a big breakthrough were too high, he said. "If the problem between the Serbs and Albanians could be solved in two days, someone would have done it before me for sure," he noted. Dacic: Date would help strike a deal Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic believes that getting a date for the start of Serbia's EU membership negotiations would serve as an impetus to reach an agreement on the institutions in the Kosovo north, while failure to obtain the date could “kill the dialogue” with Pristina. After the completion of the fifth round of the political talks with Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Taci in Brussels, Dacic told Belgrade-based broadcaster B92 that the impression that Serbia wants to deal with the issue of institutions in northern Kosovo only for the sake of starting its EU membership negotiations is unwarranted. He stressed that it is far more important to reach a sustainable solution for Kosovo. Pointing out that an agreement on the Serbs' institutions in northern Kosovo could not be reached Wednesday due to the complexity of the issue, Dacic said that a solution for northern Kosovo needs to be found as soon as possible because Serbia has little time and the current political situation is not on its side. Belgrade has agreed to resolve the issue of parallel institutions without touching on the status issue, by finding a way to form the kind of institutions that would be acceptable for both Pristina and the Kosovo Serbs and Belgrade. “On the one hand, the Serbs should be satisfied that it is their own government, while on the other hand, Pristina should accept these authorities,” Dacic said. Dacic stressed that there will be no cancellation of Serbian institutions until a package is agreed that will make possible the existence in Kosovo-Metohija of a community of Serb municipalities with prescribed powers, method of elections, and institutions of self-government. Dacic said that the issue of institutional arrangements for northern Kosovo will be considered by experts of both sides. The next round of the Brussels-based dialogue, facilitated by EU High Representative for Foreign affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton, is scheduled for March 4.