Djuric: Dialogue with Pristina is not, will not be about mutual recognition

BRUSSELS - Serbian FM Marko Djuric said on Monday in Brussels that, for Serbia, establishment of a Community of Serb Municipalities remained a priority and a framework for building the institutional capacities of Kosovo-Metohija Serbs and for safeguarding their collective rights, and noted that the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue was not and could not be about a mutual recognition.

"We insist on implementation of the agreement on a Community of Serb Municipalities as a conditio sine qua non, for building trust and normalisation of relations, which, in fact, is the essence of this process," Djuric said after a meeting with the EU special envoy for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, Peter Sorensen.

In a reaction to Pristina's repeated request for a mutual recognition, Djuric noted that the Brussels dialogue was dialogue about establishment of the Community of Serb Municipalities.

"Therefore, let there be no dilemma whatsoever. For Serbia, the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue is not, will not be and cannot be dialogue about a mutual recognition, but is, can be and must be dialogue about establishment of the Community of Serb Municipalities, about greater collective political, economic, cultural and other rights of not only the Serbs but all other nations living in the territory of Kosovo-Metohija," Djuric noted.

He noted that Serbia wanted to see an opening of trade and traffic channels, as well as a lowering of political tensions and a normalisation of the relations between Serbs and ethnic Albanians.

Djuric added that, at the meeting with Sorensen, he had also spoken about the position of Serbs arrested in Kosovo-Metohija, who he noted were seldom mentioned.

"We have dozens of political prisoners in Kosovo-Metohija. We are greatly concerned over their position because our representatives do not always have a chance to visit them and, sometimes, neither do their families. We believe the issue of solving the position of political prisoners must be taken very seriously because it, too, is a part of the overall climate," Djuric said.