Kirby: More progress has to be made

Kirby said that the U.S. insists on the normalization of relations rather than recognition of Kosovo's independence. The U.S.'s position is that this is an agreement between Belgrade and Pristina on the future of their relations. We have not said that there has to be recognition of Kosovo, we said normalization, and we know that this is difficult, Kirby told reporters after the presentation of the results of the project “Not at the Expense of Others” in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The ambassador said that it is necessary to move forward towards the EU integration and focus on the economy, which is not doing well at the moment.Kirby said that his initial impression from the readout is that Wednesday's talks were lengthy, adding that the participants in the dialogue had a long day and that they will be back together again on April 2. I spoke to EU officials on Monday and Tuesday, including the EU Commissioner, and they are very eager for this process to move forward that is to end as soon as possible, Kirby said.Certainly, President Tomislav Nikolic, Prime Minister Ivica Dacic and Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic are aware, as they are in Pristina, that in any negotiations there is give and take, Kirby said. Kirby said that the U.S. is thrilled that the EU and Lady Catherine Ashton have devoted so much time trying to help Serbia move forward.This is a real opportunity, he said. The first message of the talks between President Nikolic and U.S. Deputy President Joe Biden is that the U.S. believes that Serbia has great importance in the region and in the world, and that it supports Serbia's EU integration process. Vice President Biden is aware of the situation and what is going on in the talks and he supports the process and Serbia's EU aspirations. He really believes that this is an opportunity, although a difficult one, for Serbia to figure out a better future and move forward, Kirby said. When asked whether he has sent any political message when at the enthronement of the new Pope in Rome he stood next to Kosovo Prime Minister Hasim Taci, Kirby said that there was not any political message there, but that the people in the protocol directed him to the place where he was planned to stand.