Office for Kosovo and Metohija
Government of the Republic of Serbia

Merkel praised Belgrade’s contribution to the Brussels dialogue

The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, announced that Belgrade has shown great willingness to compromise in the dialogue with Priština and a large number of initiatives aimed at peace and stability in Western Balkans.

“This should be taken into account when the time for opening chapters comes and these efforts should really be recognized”, Merkel said at a joint press conference with the Serbian Prime Minister, Aleksandar Vučić.

She recalled that until some time ago it was unthinkable for Belgrade and Priština to negotiate for 13 or 14 hours with the mediation of the EU High Representative, as was a meeting between the Prime Ministers of Serbia and Albania, but today it is a regular occurrence.

“You can count on Berlin’s support. We see that currently there exists great willingness and compromise on the Serbian side. We will emphasize this during discussions within the EU. It was not always so in previous years, but now the situation is as such and we will assess it positively”, Merkel said, adding that it is only a “matter of time” when the chapters will be opened.

While welcoming the German Chancellor, Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić thanked her for her contribution to the policy of peace and good relations in the Balkans.

“Serbia has acted as a pillar of stability in the region and will continue to do so in the future”, Vučić said.

During talks with the German Chancellor, the President of Serbia, Tomislav Nikolić, said that Serbia is strongly committed to its European path, that it is implementing reforms and expects from Germany to help her.

"The citizens of Serbia feel fatigue regarding European integration and need certain incentive along the way," Serbian president stressed.

Speaking about regional cooperation, the President underlined: "The relations in the region are excellent and we are proud of that, Serbia is not a source of instability in the Balkans and we react calmly to all provocations."

During a two-day visit to Belgrade Chancellor Merkel met with the representatives of non-governmental sector, with whom she discussed, among other things, the Brussels dialogue between Belgrade and Priština, as well as the issue of regional stability.

The director of the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights Milan Antonijević told Tanjug news agency after the meeting that Germany is closely monitoring the process of negotiations between Belgrade and Priština.

He added that the message of Angela Merkel saying that she can really see great readiness of the Belgrade side for a compromise indicates that Brussels dialogue is at present on a level that satisfies both the EU and Germany.

"You can see the issues that are opened, it is clear that the sides do not run from some issues, and those very issues are tough both for Serbia and for the region. I think that the Chancellor herself is well aware of these problems, of all the challenges that lie ahead of Serbia, but also of all the issues that should not be forgotten and overshadowed by Kosovo," said Antonijević.