Belgrade Negotiator: Kosovo Crisis Is Over
August 11, 2011 by UPI - United Press International, Inc.
BELGRADE, Serbia, Aug. 11 (UPI) — The crisis in Kosovo is over, said Belgrade team leader Borislav Stefanovic, if Pristina is barred from setting up operations in the north.
“The crisis is over, and we are about to enter the dialogue in Brussels,” Stefanovic said in a B92 report.
Serbia protested when Kosovo set up customs roadblocks outside Serb ethnic areas.
“We believe that we will be able to resolve the problem of customs seals, although this issue is not connected to the issue of administrative crossings,” Stefanovic said. “This is our red line. We cannot allow Pristina to establish its institutions in the north, or to have the state of Serbia ousted from Kosovo and Metohija.”
The purported settlement isn’t perfect, Stefanovic said.
“This agreement is not ideal and the Serbs in north Kosovo do not accept the ban on flow of goods over 3 1/2 tons, but this was the only solution to avoid attacks on Serbs and possible victims,” Stefanovic said.
Stefanovic said Serbia didn’t get everything it wanted in the deal.
“We have bought time and got guarantees from international community that there will be no new unilateral moves by Pristina trying to change the situation in the field,” Stefanovic said.
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