Serbia rejects Western proposal on Kosovo

Serbia has turned down a proposal on Kosovo put forward by France and Germany, the country’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ivica Dacic has revealed to journalists. 

The plan had called on Belgrade not to oppose the breakaway region’s accession to the UN as a member state, in exchange for the EU’s financial support and a fast-track to membership of the bloc.

In an interview with Serbia’s Novosti media outlet, which was published on Sunday, Dacic said: “In the plan of Scholz and Macron, Serbia is offered to accept Kosovo in the United Nations in exchange for a hazy European perspective.”

However, this proposal is unacceptable to Belgrade as it is based on the premise that “Kosovo’s independence is already a done deal,” the diplomat noted.

According to the minister, Serbia’s National Security Council voted unanimously to reject the plan suggested by Berlin and Paris. Dacic pointed out that Serbia is willing to hold constructive discussions and that it has its own proposals aimed at reaching a compromise. The recognition of Kosovo as a UN member state, however, while formally different from official recognition, would for all practical purposes mean exactly that – something Belgrade cannot possibly agree to, the top Serbian diplomat clarified. He also acknowledged that Serbian officials are fully aware of the fact that they will “never get a solution that will be ideal for us.”