Kirby: Agreement could be reached

The Serbian government has been putting great efforts in an attempt to achieve an agreement with Pristina, and I am optimistic that an agreement could be reached and that Serbia could continue to advance toward EU membership, Kirby told reporters in the Serbian parliament. “The U.S. supports an agreement between Pristina and Belgrade,” he said once again, adding that “any agreement requires an agreement of both parties, not just one.” In response to the statement by Kosovo Prime Minister Hasim Taci that Pristina's stands are to a great extent in accordance with the stands of the United States and the European Union, Kirby said that during the visit of EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and the then U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Belgrade in late 2012, it was made clear that Washington “supported both sides moving together, not just one side.” Asked to comment on media reports that Taci first accepted the proposals that Ashton put forward to him some ten days before the eighth round of talks, and then after the meeting with U.S. official Philip Reeker, he decided to reject them, Kirby said: I did not take part in any talks that were allegedly held in Brussels, but I believe that an agreement, based on what happened, remains possible, Kirby said.