Serbia's president urges nation to resolve Kosovo relations

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia must resolve its relations with its breakaway former province of Kosovo in order to move forward, Serbia's president wrote in an opinion piece Monday.

In the op-ed article in the high-circulation Blic daily, President Aleksandar Vucic urged a lasting solution for the problem that has been a source of tensions in the Balkans since the 1998-99 war.

"It is important now, more than ever, that we all find an answer together," said Vucic, who has called for an all-nation discussion on the sensitive issue of the future of ties with Kosovo. "That (answer) should be permanent, rule out conflict as an option and benefit everyone in this region."

The mostly ethnic Albanian Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 with western backing. Supported by Russia, Serbia has vowed never to recognize the split.

Under European Union pressure, FYR Serbia and Kosovo have agreed to participate in EU-mediated talks on normalizing ties in order to advance their efforts to join the bloc. But Serbian nationalists want to ditch the EU bid and turn to Russia to avoid ever recognizing Kosovo, which many in the country consider the cradle of the Serbian nation.

Vucic — himself a former extreme nationalist in the 1990s' war era who now says Serbia should join the EU — said "we must at least try to resolve the Kosovo knot and not hide and leave the toughest burden to our children."

"All the paths of political cooperation and economic cooperation would be open for Serbia," he added. "And the door of the European Union as well." (ontinueReading

Europe: Serbia says Kosovo wants war as neighbours row over Serb nationalist train

DRAMA!

Via Reuters.com - Serbia's president said on Sunday January 15 that Kosovo had shown it wanted war with after it deployed special forces to prevent a train painted with Serbia's national colors and the words "Kosovo is Serbia" from entering its territory.

President Tomislav Nikolic said the neighbors had been "on the brink of conflict" on Saturday Jan.14, while Kosovo's prime minister told reporters the train, a project of the Serbian government, sent "a message of occupation."

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 but Serbia still considers it part of its territory and supports a Serb minority there. NATO air strikes on Serbia forced Belgrade to withdraw its troops in 1999, having killed 10,000 Albanian civilians there. NATO still has around 5,000 troops stationed in Kosovo to keep the fragile peace.

The train left Belgrade for Kosovo's northern town of Mitrovica on Saturday, but stopped while still in Serbia after Pristina said it had deployed special forces to prevent the train from crossing its border.

Following a specially convened National Security Council's session, Nikolic said that by sending special police forces "Albanians showed they want the war."

"We were on the brink of the conflict yesterday," Nikolic said.

Kosovo's Prime Minister Isa Mustafa said the move had been an act of protecting Kosovo's sovereignty.

"The institutions of the Republic of Kosovo will always undertake such actions to protect the country's sovereignty and not allow machines that will provoke with a message of occupation," Mustafa told reporters outside Pristina.

Relations between Belgrade and Pristina came under renewed strain on Jan. 4 when former Kosovo prime minister Ramush Haradinaj was arrested in France on a warrant from Serbia which accuses him of war crimes. [nL5N1EU4GB]

Kosovo Albanians make up more than 90 percent of Kosovo's 1.8 million population. Northern Kosovo, where Mitrovica is situated, is home to a Serb minority of around 40,000 to 50,000 people who do not see Pristina as their capital. (ontinueReading

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