The Presidents of Serbia and Kosovo Said About Territorial Changes for Conflict Settlement

The European Union traditionally opposes any territorial changes in the Balkans. The presidents of Serbia and Kosovo made it clear that they are considering border changes to reach a historic peace settlement and called on the European Union to provide crucial support for their efforts. This declaration made at a panel discussion in Austria on August 25 placed the EU in a difficult position, because EU leaders have long opposed any territorial changes in the Balkans after the ethnic violence of the wars of the 1990s, Politico reports. The relevant talks began a few weeks ago, but the two presidents made it clear for the first time at the European Forum Alpbach. European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Commissioner Johannes Hahn tried to walk a diplomatic tightrope — saying nothing should be excluded at this stage but urging the leaders to ensure that any deal does not destabilize the wider region. “Kosovo is determined to reach a binding legal agreement with Serbia. The time to do this is now. And we have a short window of opportunity. It is not easy at all; it is very, very difficult. That’s why everybody has to be behind it. Countries of our region, EU member states or other countries in the world should not oppose or be afraid of a potential peaceful agreement between Kosovo and Serbia, even if such a deal might include border correction”, Thaçi said. Neither leader gave any details of what might be on the table. The most commonly discussed scenario would involve part of northern Kosovo — predominantly inhabited by Serbs — being allocated to Serbia and the mainly ethnic Albanian Presevo Valley area of Serbia where there are 90% of Albanians could become part of Kosovo. Source: TSN