Dacic: Taci undermines agreement
Belgrade was willing to accept the Brussels agreement on the powers for the community of Serb municipalities but Kosovo s representative Hasim Taci undermined the agreement, Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic stated.
(kosovocompromisestuff) Thursday, April 18, 2013
After the talks in Brussels which lasted 15 hours and ended after midnight on Wednesday, Dacic told reporters that the draft document containing 15 points acceptable for the Serbian delegation was offered at the meeting.
Taci undermined the agreement on the powers for the community of Serb municipalities by bringing the matter in connection to Kosovo's membership in international organisations, including the UN, which the Serbian delegation could not accept, Dacic said.
He noted that Taci's interpretation, according to which Belgrade refused the agreement, is extremely unfair.
Dacic said that Pristina undermined the agreement by linking the issue of powers in northern Kosovo to a new point according to which the two sides would not interfere in one another's membership in international organisations.
"They cannot block us anywhere, so our consent to this request would mean that we recognise Kosovo's independence, and we will never recognise it," Dacic pointed out.
As he put it, Serbia is willing to resume the dialogue regardless of the fact that no agreement was reached on Wednesday, and consultations of the state leadership will continue.
"We want this issue to be resolved positively," the Serbian prime minister said, adding that the Serbian government is willing to include NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen in the talks on the presence of a future Kosovo army in northern Kosovo.
Dacic also said that the talks were difficult and thanked EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton for her proposals which are "much more acceptable than in the previous stages," adding that there has been significant convergence of the two parties' views on many issues.
"It is obvious that Pristina is not ready to go all the way and it is obstructing the talks and even threatening to resolve the issue of the north by some other methods, expecting us to react with anxiety and opposition. Of course, it is important to listen to reason and try to reach a solution in the next few days," said Dacic.
He said that the Serbian delegation did not go to Brussels to obstruct the talks, but rather to find a solution, "making huge, uneasy and painful compromises" and blamed Pristina of "threatening the whole deal by insistence on petty details."
The Serbian prime minister said that it is possible for a breakthrough to be made in the next few days and reiterated that Serbia is committed to finding a solution.
"We are not seeking the impossible, and we have a very serious approach to these talks, not just because of a date for (the start of) the talks on the accession to the European Union, but also because of the people who live in Kosovo-Metohija," Dacic said, stressing that Belgrade is seeking a solution acceptable to both sides.
Taci undermined the agreement on the powers for the community of Serb municipalities by bringing the matter in connection to Kosovo's membership in international organisations, including the UN, which the Serbian delegation could not accept, Dacic said.
He noted that Taci's interpretation, according to which Belgrade refused the agreement, is extremely unfair.
Dacic said that Pristina undermined the agreement by linking the issue of powers in northern Kosovo to a new point according to which the two sides would not interfere in one another's membership in international organisations.
"They cannot block us anywhere, so our consent to this request would mean that we recognise Kosovo's independence, and we will never recognise it," Dacic pointed out.
As he put it, Serbia is willing to resume the dialogue regardless of the fact that no agreement was reached on Wednesday, and consultations of the state leadership will continue.
"We want this issue to be resolved positively," the Serbian prime minister said, adding that the Serbian government is willing to include NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen in the talks on the presence of a future Kosovo army in northern Kosovo.
Dacic also said that the talks were difficult and thanked EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton for her proposals which are "much more acceptable than in the previous stages," adding that there has been significant convergence of the two parties' views on many issues.
"It is obvious that Pristina is not ready to go all the way and it is obstructing the talks and even threatening to resolve the issue of the north by some other methods, expecting us to react with anxiety and opposition. Of course, it is important to listen to reason and try to reach a solution in the next few days," said Dacic.
He said that the Serbian delegation did not go to Brussels to obstruct the talks, but rather to find a solution, "making huge, uneasy and painful compromises" and blamed Pristina of "threatening the whole deal by insistence on petty details."
The Serbian prime minister said that it is possible for a breakthrough to be made in the next few days and reiterated that Serbia is committed to finding a solution.
"We are not seeking the impossible, and we have a very serious approach to these talks, not just because of a date for (the start of) the talks on the accession to the European Union, but also because of the people who live in Kosovo-Metohija," Dacic said, stressing that Belgrade is seeking a solution acceptable to both sides.
