Serbian president disappointed over meeting with Kosovo premier

By Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - Serbia’s president said Monday that a new round of dialogue with Kosovo in Brussels did not go well.

Aleksandar Vucic made the remarks after meeting with Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti.

Vucic said the essence of Pristina's presentation was that Serbia was guilty of three genocides in Kosovo.

He also said that Serbia accepted all three points of a European Union proposal for talks but that Pristina did not want to accept any of them.

The EU called for intensifying joint efforts to identify the remains of missing persons, to refrain from actions that could destabilize the situation on the ground, and that the chief negotiators meet once a month.

"We could not agree on anything," said Vucic.

"The last time we were in Brussels, I thought it was impossible to have a worse meeting. Today, I was convinced that it was possible," he told reporters.

According to Vucic, Serbia has fully agreed with all three EU points.

"The essence of their statements is that Serbia is guilty of three genocides in Kosovo," said Vucic, explaining that Kurti spoke about alleged genocides, the first of which was allegedly committed in 1878 and the last in 1999.

"For others, I am not sure whether he meant the Balkan Wars or the Second World War," Vucic said.

Vucic and Kurti met for the first time after a long break in the dialogue process on June 15 in Brussels.

Then Kosovo requested Serbia to recognize its independence while Serbia demands the implementation of the agreement on the formation of the Community of Serbian Municipalities.

The EU has been leading negotiations between the two sides for nearly a decade, but the process has suffered setbacks due to heightened tensions over the past few years.

Last September, Serbia and Kosovo agreed to take steps towards economic cooperation after talks held in the US.

Serbia, however, had turned down calls for mutual recognition.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in February 2008 and is recognized by more than 100 countries, including the US, the UK, France, Germany and Turkey.

Belgrade, however, still claims Kosovo as a breakaway province. China and Russia are among the countries yet to recognize Kosovo as an independent state.