Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said on Monday that he would not allow a new Republika Srpska to be set up in the north but added that he wants normal relations with Serbia.

“We will not allow a satellite para-state with a destructive essence to undermine Kosovo’s statehood,” he told the Zagreb-based Hina news agency. “Territorial sovereignty and integrity are something that must not be violated. I want normal relations with Serbia, European relations, good neighbour relations,” he added.

“Protecting minorities is important to use but we can’t grant executive powers to a local community because executive powers belong to the government and municipalities,” he said.

Speaking prior to Tuesday’s top-level meeting of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, Kurti said that he is looking forward to seeing the draft statute of the Community of Serb Municipalities (CSM), “I would prefer to have it presented in Pristina but I will make sure that everything agreed in Brussels on February 27 is fulfilled and that is an appropriate level of self-administration for the Serb community in line with the highest European and international standards for the protection of minorities,” he said.

Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic have been invited to a meeting with European Union High Representative Josep Borrell and special representative Miroslav Lajcak. The agenda includes a presentation of the first draft of the CSM statute and a declaration on missing persons.