Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has indicated that he may accept the latest Franco-German plan to normalize relations with Kosovo. Western negotiators had given him the choice of accepting the plan or having the EU accession negotiations broken off and foreign investments withdrawn as a consequence, he said on Monday evening. Faced with this choice, “I am in favor of the compromise path, no matter how controversial it may be,” Vučić said in a live press conference. Almost only Albanians live in Kosovo, which has been independent since 2008. Serbia does not recognize the statehood of the former province and claims Kosovo as its own. Among other things, the Franco-German plan provides for Serbia and Kosovo not to formally recognize each other, but to accept their state existence within the current borders. In particular, Serbia would stop blocking Kosovo’s membership of international organizations with the help of Russia. Serbia would not support Kosovo joining the UN, “but we would de facto accept its membership,” Vučić said. In the end, however, the Serbian parliament and “perhaps the people” would have to decide.
Serbia-Kosovo – Vučić does not rule out compromise – Politics
