Serbia remains committed to finding compromise

Serbia's state leaders will hold on to this despite the fact that the authorities in Pristina have not yet made any move to show readiness for a constructive discussion on modalities for reaching a solution, Presidential Adviser Marko Djuric told reporters after the meeting. “We arrived at a conclusion that Pristina has not moved an inch from the position it took since the beginning of negotiations. We concluded that they were not sufficiently constructive in the first part of the dialogue and we are now sending a clear message that we expect them to be far more constructive in the continuation of the dialogue,” Djuric said. Djuric added that Serbia expects from the EU to remain an impartial mediator and to spur Pristina to adopting a constructive approach, as the Albanian side has proven to be “far less ready to work towards a solution that would satisfy the interests of both sides." He stressed that Serbia has a clear concept for the establishment of a community of Serb municipalities, which should have its own jurisdiction over many areas of public activity, such as the judiciary, police, education. Djuric also said Serbia is ready to lead serious talks on this topic. The senior state officials met at the presidential residence in Belgrade's neighborhood of Dedinje on the eve of the new round of talks to analyze the results of the Brussels-based dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina to date. The meeting was attended by Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic, Prime Minister Ivica Dacic, First Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, Deputy Prime Minister in charge of European integration Suzana Grubjesic, Presidential Adviser Marko Djuric and Director of the government's Office for Kosovo-Metohija Aleksandar Vulin. The sixth round of talks between the senior political representatives of Belgrade and Pristina will kick off in Brussels Monday morning, and its main theme will be the concept for a community of Serb municipalities in Kosovo. During the last round of talks, the Serbian delegation has put forward its idea that such a community should be given executive powers, which was resolutely refused by the Pristina side. This made Belgrade's most senior officials hold a meeting Friday at which they urged the most influential representatives of the international community to pressurize Pristina to compromise, as a solution can be reached through compromise alone. Djuric said after the meeting that the Serbian side is willing to compromise, but it cannot be expected to be the only one making concessions.