Davenport: Agreement within reach
An agreement on a community of Serb municipalities in Kosovo is within reach and if it is achieved, that will be an important step toward a normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina, UK Ambassador to Serbia Michael Davenport said.
(kosovocompromisestuff) Sunday, April 07, 2013
Davenport, who gave this estimate based on statements of those who are directly involved in negotiations, says for Belgrade-based daily Danas that the agreement requires a compromise of both sides.
My government gives the most sincere support to the dialogue, organized under the auspices of EU High Representative Catherine Ashton. One should not disregard that the process has already yielded many concrete things, Davenport said
Asked whether another meeting between representatives of Belgrade and Pristina might take place in Brussels despite Ashton's announcement that this week's round was the last formal meeting, Davenport said the two sides should work toward reaching an agreement in line with the set time frames about which Ashton was talking about.
In practice, that would mean further engagement on meeting the criteria that the European Council put forward in its conclusions of December 2012, Davenport said.
Davenport qualified as encouraging the active participation of Serbia's key political leaders in the dialogue.
Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic and his first deputy Aleksandar Vucic are fully committed to the dialogue, and I know that they both care a lot about a positive outcome of the talks with Pristina. Further progress in this process would depend on their sincere and constructive participation, the UK ambassador said.
When asked whether if there were no agreement with Pristina until Tuesday, that would automatically mean that Serbia would not be granted a starting date for EU entry talks, Davenport said that the conclusions of the European Council concerning the criteria that Serbia would have to fulfill were still valid.
I think that, at this moment, all energy and attention should be focused on reaching an agreement that would be a true contribution to the historic normalization of relations, Davenport said.
The eighth round of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue ended on April 2 without any agreement, and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton has announced that as far as she in concerned, the political dialogue is over, and she expects Belgrade and Pristina to inform her about their decision.
My government gives the most sincere support to the dialogue, organized under the auspices of EU High Representative Catherine Ashton. One should not disregard that the process has already yielded many concrete things, Davenport said
Asked whether another meeting between representatives of Belgrade and Pristina might take place in Brussels despite Ashton's announcement that this week's round was the last formal meeting, Davenport said the two sides should work toward reaching an agreement in line with the set time frames about which Ashton was talking about.
In practice, that would mean further engagement on meeting the criteria that the European Council put forward in its conclusions of December 2012, Davenport said.
Davenport qualified as encouraging the active participation of Serbia's key political leaders in the dialogue.
Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic and his first deputy Aleksandar Vucic are fully committed to the dialogue, and I know that they both care a lot about a positive outcome of the talks with Pristina. Further progress in this process would depend on their sincere and constructive participation, the UK ambassador said.
When asked whether if there were no agreement with Pristina until Tuesday, that would automatically mean that Serbia would not be granted a starting date for EU entry talks, Davenport said that the conclusions of the European Council concerning the criteria that Serbia would have to fulfill were still valid.
I think that, at this moment, all energy and attention should be focused on reaching an agreement that would be a true contribution to the historic normalization of relations, Davenport said.
The eighth round of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue ended on April 2 without any agreement, and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton has announced that as far as she in concerned, the political dialogue is over, and she expects Belgrade and Pristina to inform her about their decision.
