"Serbia can't exchange parts of own territory"

"But this would not stop the integration in this part of the country," said Markovic, who heads the Public Administration and Local Self-Government department in the current government, and is also chief of the Coordination Body for the Municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja.

He was referring to an attack on a policeman in the region, which is home to the largest ethnic Albanian population in Serbia outside of Kosovo.

"The situation is very complicated and it is certain that there is a some connection between the events in Presevo and Bujanovac and the politics in Pristina," he told Belgrade daily Vecernje Novosti.

Stating that ethnic Albanian leaders from these municipalities made regular visits to Pristina and that some parties worked closely with Albanian parties in Kosovo, the minister commented on the question about the possible "spilling over of instability" from the province's north to the south of Serbia by saying that "our security forces are ready to protect all citizens and their property".

Asked about local Albanians suggestions that Presevo and Bujanovac should be "annexed to Kosovo in exchange for the north of the province", Markovic said that "we cannot exchange what's ours for something else that's ours."