Drecun: Germany condition is deliberate provocation

Commenting on the statements by the German Ambassador Wilhelm Heinz that Kosovo's membership in the UN was an issue that should be put on the table in Brussels and that Berlin wanted the relations between Belgrade and Pristina to be raised to the ambassadorial level, Drecun said that the demands could lead to a "serious destabilization" in the given situation.

Germany allows itself to act solo when it comes to setting out conditions, because it is the strongest member of the EU economy, but this requirement is not the attitude of Brussels, he told reporters in the Serbian parliament.
"If the setting out of almost dictatorial conditions before Serbia, such as Kosovo's membership in the UN, continues, I see no prospect for a solution to the Kosovo problem or a regional perspective for the European Union, which leads us to an even greater problem - a Greater Albania," said Drecun.

According to Drecun, any such statement is pushing Serbia away from the European Union because it increases the number of people opposing EU membership.

He also stressed that Serbia had drawn the line before Kosovo's membership in the UN.
"We will never recognize the independence of Kosovo. The question is whether we want good bilateral relations of Germany or Germany wants to keep us away from itself and also from the EU," said Drecun.

He stressed that by imposing such conditions on Serbia, Germany was closing the door to any kind of dialogue.

Drecun reiterated Belgrade's firm position that Kosovo was not a state and therefore "has no ambassadors of its own."

It was for the very reason of promoting communication that liaison officers were agreed on, said Drecun.

He added that Pristina would try to pass their liaison officer off as an ambassador, which explained why it had mentioned its "former ambassador to Sweden."

Drecun added that he had no information about who would be the liaison officer for Serbia in Pristina.

Degert: EU has not debated Kosovo's UN membership

Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Vincent Degert said Thursday that EU had not yet discussed the idea of Germany to seek from Serbia to allow Kosovo become a UN member.

German Ambassador to Serbia Heinz Wilhelm has said for Thursday's edition of Belgrade-based daily that Germany and the entire EU expect normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina before Serbia makes its next step towards Brussels and that Kosovo's membership in the UN is an issue that needs to be put on the table in Brussels.

Asked if Serbia would be sought to give its consent for Kosovo's membership in the UN to obtain a date for the start of negotiations on Serbia's EU membership, the German ambassador said that it was difficult to say anything about that at the moment.

This topic has not been discussed yet, Degert told reporters in Belgrade after a meeting with Serbia's secondary school students, dubbed 'Let's Talk about Europe' and held in Belgrade Thursday.
The purpose of the dialogue, which we consider to be of great significance, is to help Belgrade and Pristina cooperate in regional organizations and perhaps in international ones as well, said Degert.

DSS: Gov't should take care of state interests

Whip of the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) in the Serbian parliament Slobodan Samardzic told the Serbian government that it should be more cautious and take more care of the country's interests, adding that, by saying that Serbia should remove obstacles to Kosovo's UN seat, German Ambassador to Serbia Heinz Wilhelm has opened an issue that Brussels did not mention.

Kocijancic: Only EC conclusions relevant

Spokesperson of High EU Representative Catherine Ashton Maja Kocijancic refused to comment on the statement of the German ambassador in Belgrade that Kosovo's membership in the UN should be included in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and recalled that the framework of the dialogue has already been set by the conclusions of the European Council (EC) in December 2012.