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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

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Serbia initials in Brussels best possible solution for now

Belgrade, 20 April 2013

Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Ivica Dacic stated that the initialling of the draft agreement with the provisional institutions of government in Pristina means that the community of Serbs in northern Kosovo, which used to be called a parallel structure, has now been recognised internationally for the first time.

Ivica Dacic

Author: rts.rs

In an interview to Radio Television Serbia last night, Dacic said that this however is only the beginning and that the Serbian authorities will continue to fight for Kosovo-Metohija, but with somewhat different methods.

He underlined that this is the first time that Serbia received guarantees from NATO forces that no future army of Kosovo will be allowed to enter the north of Kosovo without the permission of KFOR.

That will be possible only in case of humanitarian crises, but even then with the approval of the Serbs.

The state authorities, i.e. the government and possibly the Parliament should make the decision by Monday on whether the agreement should be signed or not, the Prime Minister said and added that no divisions should exist on this matter and that all decisions should be made jointly and accepted by as many parties as possible.

This will be part of our constitutional and legal system, in the sense that a law on substantive autonomy should be passed, as well as a constitutional law that will incorporate competencies of the Serbian community in Kosovo into the law, as envisaged by the Constitution, Dacic explained.

He reiterated that Serbia will never abandon its people in Kosovo-Metohija, and said that now it is necessary to form a joint implementation body and to make a plan for the implementation of the agreements reached, and that the talks on churches and Serbian property are yet to be held.

Dacic explained that Serbia’s goal is that the property be owned by the Serbian community and declared that Serbia does not give up on further talks and seeking a final solution for Kosovo-Metohija.

Serbia has Russia’s support in this matter and will request that the talks on the province’s status be held, but until then a sustainable solution should be found.

We can refuse this agreement, but we need to know that at this point we cannot get more than this. If that is so, we should be part of the solution to the problem, not a permanent European topic, the Prime Minister stressed, adding that the decision to initial the draft agreement was made unanimously.

We expect that the steps we have made will be highly appreciated, that they will have a direct impact on the status, rating and the economic standard because our people deserve to live like all normal people, Dacic stated.

He reiterated that the talks were long and difficult, that the Serbian side did not negotiate solely with Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, but in most cases the Serbian delegation was "alone against all."

According to him, at this point it is not possible to take the negotiations back to the United Nations, and after the eighth round of the Brussels talks, when Serbia rejected the agreement, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton asked to inform her on what would be a sufficient condition for us to accept it.

We requested that the future Kosovo army cannot set foot in the north of Kosovo, that the police and the judiciary are composed of Serbs, that the Serbian community propose three candidates for the regional police commander, that there is a department of the district court in northern Mitrovica and that the community has a key authority in health and education sectors, Dacic specified.

The conditions were accepted, he said, but the item 14 was inserted, asking Serbia not to obstruct Kosovo's membership in international organisations, which the Serbian delegation refused because Serbia does not want to open the way to Kosovo to the OSCE and the UN.

He recalled that Monday, 22 April, is the last day for Serbia to declare itself on the agreement, because on that day Catherine Ashton should address the Council of Ministers, adding that Ashton will be notified of the decision in writing.