Exchange of territory is dangerous

A Kosovo Albanian government in Pristina officials says that a possible "exchange of territory between Kosovo and Serbia" would open up the issue of borders.

(KosovoCompromise Staff) Wednesday, June 30, 2010

It would also pose a danger to the stability of the region, said Deputy PM Hajredin Kuqi.

He stated that reports recently about a possible "exchange of territory between Kosovo and Serbia" had been present for a long time, but that they did not have any grounds in reality.

According to the Kuqi, it would be "best to solve the problem by European integrations".

Albanian language media in Pristina have taken to quoting western diplomatic sources in the past few weeks to report that Serbia would, after the decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), offer negotiations about a "new border with Kosovo", and also to exchange "northern Kosovo for Presevo (valley)".

The province's north is predominantly inhabited by Serbs, while the south-eastern parts of central Serbia, known informally as the Presevo Valley, are mostly ethnic Albanian.