Petkovic: Concrete steps to be discussed in Brussels, our red lines to stay

BELGRADE - The head of the Serbian government Office for Kosovo-Metohija Petar Petkovic said an April 4 round of the Brussels dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina would address concrete steps to implement a recent agreement from Ohrid, North Macedonia, and noted that Belgrade's red lines would remain in place.

In a statement to Radio Belgrade, Petkovic said one of the first commitments Pristina needed to meet under an annex to the agreement was the establishment of a Community of Serb Municipalities, in line with relevant previous agreements that clearly defined its substantial powers.

"Our red lines are that Belgrade will never agree to the so-called Kosovo becoming a UN member state and that Belgrade will not recognise the so-called Kosovo either de facto or de iure. We can discuss everything else agreed in the annex and see how we will implement that," Petkovic said.

"The substantial powers of the Community of Serb Municipalities, its objectives, its authorities and the way it operates are clearly defined, including in Point 16, which stipulates that the Community be co-funded by Belgrade," Petkovic said.

When asked to comment on Pristina's claims that the deal implies no autonomy for Kosovo-Metohija Serbs and that the Ohrid agreement contains no reference to the Community, Petkovic said Pristina had been "under siege" in the wake of the Ohrid meeting and that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic had been very cautious in expressing the hope the dialogue would head towards normalisation of Belgrade-Pristina relations.

"Since Pristina has been refusing to form a Community of Serb Municipalities for ten years now, its most recent statements, too, show that it is not prepared to go in that direction. But that is a matter that should be handled by Pristina, by international representatives and by dialogue facilitators, who are obliged to make Pristina meet that commitment. It will then be absolutely clear who is sticking to dialogue and who actually does not want dialogue. Belgrade has always been committed to dialogue... and only dialogue can ensure normalisation of relations," Petkovic said.