Serbia's PM: Serb-Albanian agreement only way to lasting peace in the Balkans

NEWS 16.09.201911:35
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Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic told Belgrade daily Blic on Monday that a historic agreement between Serbs and Albanians is the only way to achieve lasting peace in the Balkans.

She said that can only be achieved through a compromise which means that both sides would loose something and win something, a view expressed frequently by officials in Belgrade.

“We should get the most that we can and loose the least that we can. There can be no solution without a compromise and both sides could get a lot – a more stable, happier future, long-term perace and prosperity,” Brnabic said.

The prime minister said there is no point in talking about the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue before the Kosovo government revokes the 100 percent tariffs on Serbian goods. “I can only hope that the decision will be taken in the near future because, as much as the tariffs have affected us here in central Serbia, they are causing the most damage to the people living in Kosovo – both Serbs and Albanians,” she said.

Speaking about her coming meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Brnabic said that Serbia has proved to be Germany’s reliable and predictable partner despite differences in views on Kosovo. “Changellor Merkel’s support was very significant in many situations. She remained committed to the Western Balkans at a time when that was not politically opportune. We will always appreciate that,” Brnabic said.

The prime minister said that she is not even thinking about the opposition’s decision to boycott the coming elections, adding that this is their democratic right and their only way out the situation that they caused themselves. “When you have a policy of insults and threats with no constructive criticism and without an ounce of objectivity to say that something good has been done for a long time, you get to a point when you have neither the support nor the ideas to take part in parliamentary elections which you have known are coming for four years,” Brnabic said.