Foreign Minister: Von Cramon Downplays Pristina's Lack of Readiness for Dialogue

Nikola Selakovic (BETAPHOTO/FOREIGN MINISTRY/MO)

Serbian Foreign Minister Nikola Selakovic said on June 16 that a Member of European Parliament, Viola von Cramon, had made "a serious political and diplomatic breach, trying to downplay and defend Pristina's total lack of readiness to discuss any issue constructively, or meet its obligations."

Introducing a new principle - nothing is agreed until everything is agreed - in the process resting on clearly defined deadlines is nothing short of an attempt to break the dialogue, Minister Selakovic said in a comment on Viola von Cramon's view on a new round of Belgrade-Pristina talks, in which Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti met for the first time.

"We shouldn't necessarily expect results after one round of talks, and we should bear in mind that nothing is agreed, until everything is agreed," Viola von Cramon, the European Parliament's rapporteur for Kosovo, said in an interview with the Danas newspaper.

Selakovic said that "such an interpretation of the Brussels dialogue could also relieve Belgrade of any duty to act in line with the EU-mediated agreements reached over the years, based on Brussels guarantees that they would be implemented, too." The Serbian foreign minister also expressed hope that "Mrs. Viola von Carmon wasn't suggesting anything like that."