Office for Kosovo and Metohija
Government of the Republic of Serbia

Vučić: Serbia stands ready for a compromise concerning Kosovo and Metohija, not ready to give everything away

Earlier today, President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić said that he would not “ignore the elephant in the room like everyone else did” when it comes to Kosovo and Metohija, that he was all set to do something that in essence is a compromise, also adding that only the delusional ones could begin to think that Serbia would end up giving it all away and remaining empty handed.

This is the statement Vučić gave after the meeting he held with Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, in response to journalists’ questions concerning the internal dialogue on Kosovo and Metohija, notably, whether said dialogue was deadlined, and what was the specific compromise acceptable for Serbia in order to reach a durable solution.

“In the end, it will be the citizens of Serbia who are going to give the answer to this question. Should I, as the President of the Republic, opt to follow suite of everyone else so to mimic an ostrich with its head in the sand and go on to say fine, no problem, let us wait for another 200 years while you and your children and grandchildren go through the same ordeal as we, our parents and grandparents did, or are you ready to do something that would represent a compromise both for the Serbs and the Albanians - and I stand ready to try, fully aware that it would require me to pay the price which is impossible to sustain and remain in power” Vučić said.

He dismissed that as “not particularly important” while stressing that it was important whether we were capable or not to reach a compromise, further adding that he would do his best to do so, and that, should we fail in it, that would be tantamount to yet another failure, to more lost time, and to another generation’s worth waste of time...

He recalled such a failure would also affect our economy since these are always interlinked.

However, he added, this also requires that “our Albanian partners also think in that same way in order to reach a compromise”.

“If anyone thinks that Serbia will give it all away and remain empty handed, I can only call them delusional, as we are reiterating this position openly and always” Vučić repeated and added:

“If they can find someone else who will resolve this problem in a better way – I will at once renounce whatever they ask, just to see if and how you would make that happen”.

He underscored that the internal dialogue was going on, that there are myriad of opinions, and that there are those who want to keep Serbia stuck in the mire of the past for good.

Following the statement that he has conversed with the Albanians from Kosovo and Metohija and question whether he witnessed a wish for a compromise on their part, President of Serbia said that “they know they have to do something” but that it is difficult for them due to their internal turmoil and situation in Priština which is different than in Belgrade.

“It is also clear to them they have to do something and that the Serbs have to gain something, in order to be able to talk about compromise” Vučić concluded.

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