Office for Kosovo and Metohija
Government of the Republic of Serbia

Đurić: Priština not interested in closing agreements

Director of the Serbian government's Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Marko Đurić expressed his disappointment over the non-constructive stand assumed by the Priština side during the most recent round of dialogue held in Brussels, adding that Belgrade is ready to proceed forward with talks.

"I must say that for the past three years we have never witnessed such attitude on the part of Priština, nor such lack of interest to discuss the core of the issue. They attended the meeting half-heartedly, cited two words as a pretext not to sign, and I am convinced that they did not like the vast part of what was discussed," Đurić told RTS.

He added that at one point during the most recent round of the dialogue in Brussels, held on Monday, it seemed that representatives of Priština intended to walk away from the meeting, but then they came back with a ready pretext not to accept a document that was largely agreed.

Đurić said that it shows that Priština is not immune to the influence of the international community, and therefore expects that Priština would be held accountable for not implementing what was agreed in the First Agreement whose opening six points specifically refer to the Community of Serbian Municipalities.

Đurić said that the Serbian delegation, led by Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić, ensured that Serbia can directly financially invest in the CSM, that the CSM would be exempted from taxes and charges, and would have the President, the Assembly, Executive Council, its own council made up of influential Serbs, and also that CSM would have specific competencies.

When it comes to the agreement on telecommunications, Đurić said that we can be satisfied with the discussion on this issue, that the document is finalized and pending the agreement on the CSM.

Under this arrangement, he explained, Kosovo will use Serbian geographic dialling code and the issue of the status is bypassed in manner favourable for Serbia.

Đurić explained that "Telekom Serbia" would get a license for the landline and mobile telephony, that calls between Serbia and Kosovo would not incur international tariffing, nor would dialling code would be used, and it has been ensured that the CSM would hold its own guaranteed part within the digital spectrum for television and other media.

As to the further course of the dialogue, Đurić said that the Serbian side is ready to continue and it is now up to the mediators and Priština.

"Prime Minister Vučić is the most meritorious for such favourable agreements, we now have the paperwork before us and we are ready to proceed whenever it is needed," said Đurić.

When asked to comment on the pending formation of the Special Court for war crimes of the Kosovo Liberation Army, Đurić said that actions speak louder than words given that it is the parliamentary majority, supporting the Priština government, that failed to endorse the establishment of this court.

"Somebody's not honest there. The moment this proves not to be possible in the Kosovo Assembly, it becomes possible in the UN and Serbia requests such decision to be made in the UN as soon as possible. It is impossible that no one is held accountable for the most terrible things that the terrorist KLA committed", Đurić said.