Nikolic: Serbia in safe hands, decision on Monday
Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said on Sunday that the stands of Serbia's top officials on the agreement with Pristina will be known on Monday, noting that there will be a unanimous position, and that despite the difficulties facing Serbia, citizens should be sure that Serbia is in safe hands.
(kosovocompromisestuff) Sunday, April 07, 2013
"We will announce tomorrow the stands of Serbia's top officials, who will be unanimous, and that will not be simple, as no offer was made in Brussels, but rather an ultimatum. It can indeed be corrected and it must indeed be improved, as, under the pretext of abolishing parallel institutions, someone is trying to abolish the Serbs, as if they were a parallel people," Nikolic told a press conference after the meeting with senior officials of Republika Srpska (RS), one of the two entities in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Serbia has to implement the parliament's Resolution on Kosovo, or implement the things that it agrees to in the dialogue through Serbia's institutions, the president said.
Serbia was convinced that it was negotiating about a date on which it would start to open the doors of the European Union, Nikolic noted, adding that one of the conditions attached to that was to achieve the best possible relations between Belgrade and Pristina.
"You know what we have given up on, but we insisted on certain competencies that the Serb community would have to have. We hit a wall, and that resembled negotiations on independence of Kosovo, but no one in Serbia is in charge of that or will negotiate about that - however, we will talk about ways in which that Serb community would live there," Nikolic said, underlining that citizens will on Monday know the government's decision, which will be backed by the Serbian president and most parliamentary parties.
He said that if one insists on talks on relations between Serbia and Kosovo, the format used in the negotiations so far will not be acceptable, and "we will insist that those talks be held under the auspices of an organization of which we are a member."
During the talks with the RS delegation headed by President Milorad Dodik, Serbia's stands were met with full understanding. The officials voiced their wish that Serbia and RS would progress further.
"We will have joint endeavors in many domains. We will enter many markets together and I think we will fight together for the goals that are proclaimed in our constitutions, and that we promised to our citizens," Nikolic said.
The EU set April 9 as the deadline by which Belgrade and Pristina should deliver a decision concerning the proposal put forward during the eighth round of the dialogue that was held in Brussels last Tuesday.
Serbia has to implement the parliament's Resolution on Kosovo, or implement the things that it agrees to in the dialogue through Serbia's institutions, the president said.
Serbia was convinced that it was negotiating about a date on which it would start to open the doors of the European Union, Nikolic noted, adding that one of the conditions attached to that was to achieve the best possible relations between Belgrade and Pristina.
"You know what we have given up on, but we insisted on certain competencies that the Serb community would have to have. We hit a wall, and that resembled negotiations on independence of Kosovo, but no one in Serbia is in charge of that or will negotiate about that - however, we will talk about ways in which that Serb community would live there," Nikolic said, underlining that citizens will on Monday know the government's decision, which will be backed by the Serbian president and most parliamentary parties.
He said that if one insists on talks on relations between Serbia and Kosovo, the format used in the negotiations so far will not be acceptable, and "we will insist that those talks be held under the auspices of an organization of which we are a member."
During the talks with the RS delegation headed by President Milorad Dodik, Serbia's stands were met with full understanding. The officials voiced their wish that Serbia and RS would progress further.
"We will have joint endeavors in many domains. We will enter many markets together and I think we will fight together for the goals that are proclaimed in our constitutions, and that we promised to our citizens," Nikolic said.
The EU set April 9 as the deadline by which Belgrade and Pristina should deliver a decision concerning the proposal put forward during the eighth round of the dialogue that was held in Brussels last Tuesday.
