Dialogue and compromise are the only way to reach a sustainable agreement between Belgrade and Pristina

03. Jun 2021.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia, Nikola Selaković, met with the EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and other western Balkan regional issues, Miroslav Lajčák.

Minister Selaković said that Serbia supports the work of the special representative, but also that he expects that his engagement will contribute to the progress of the dialogue in order to reach a political and compromise solution. He added that our country is ready to cooperate with all actors of the international community who can help resolve open issues with Pristina, but that Brussels remains a central place for dialogue.

"Dialogue and compromise are the only right way to reach a sustainable agreement between Belgrade and Pristina", Selaković pointed out, emphasizing that the final outcome of the compromise would be a situation in which neither side gets everything, and everyone gets enough".

He also reminded that Belgrade fulfilled all the obligations from the dialogue, while Pristina, even eight years after reaching the Brussels Agreement, did not fulfill its main part, which is the Association of Serbian Municipalities.

"We approached the dialogue believing in the EU as a strong and credible guarantor of the implementation of all agreements reached, so we rightly expect Brussels' activities towards Pristina, aimed at fulfilling the obligations undertaken from the Brussels Agreement, which is the formation of the Association of Serbian Municipalities", said Minister Selaković. adding that, so far, all we have seen was the lack of readiness of Pristina to implement it, which is clearly confirmed in the recent statements of Albin Kurti.  

The head of Serbian diplomacy underlined that Serbia is committed to dialogue, as well as peace and stability in the region, and that it is ready to continue talks, while, on the other hand, Pristina continuously shows that it is not essentially interested in normalizing relations.

Speaking about Serbia's European integration, Selaković said that Serbia's membership in the EU is a strategic commitment of our foreign policy, pointing out that the progress achieved in the reform process was not accompanied by the appropriate dynamics of accession negotiations.

Selaković informed his interlocutor about the importance of regional cooperation and active approach, and about a series of activities of Serbia that contribute to the progress of the region and the acceleration of its integration processes.

Today's meeting was also attended by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and State Department’s Special Representative for the Western Balkans, Matthew Palmer, with whom the head of Serbian diplomacy previously had a separate meeting.