Macron Announces meeting with Kosovo, Serbian leaders and German chancellor

BETAPHOTO/MILAN OBRADOVIC/

French President Emmanuel Macron announced in Belgrade on July 15, that he would soon organize a special meeting with the leaders of Kosovo and Serbia and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

At a joint press conference after his meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, which lasted about an hour and a half, Macron said that France would support the resumption of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, the aim of which was to find a concrete solution in the next few months.

A compromise in the negotiations with Kosovo means, as Macron put it, that no "completely opposite position can survive."

"Everyone must move, we must find a way to be able to look to the future," said Macron.

Macron further said that he understood the frustration many Serbs felt when it came to Kosovo, but that there was no going back.

"All those who think that to defend the Serbian people means not to find a compromise (...) should look at history and wars," said Macron.

The French leader said that an agreement between Serbia and Kosovo was very important for regional stability, but was also a test for Europe's capacity to mediate an agreement of "great peoples."

"The solution lies in the peoples and their leaders. I am not here to teach lessons, but rather to help," he said.

The French president went on to say that, parallel with the reforms which Serbia needed to carry out on the European integration road, the EU must also reform in order to be ready to accept Serbia.

"With 28 members, the EU is already not functioning and cannot expand without reforming itself," said Macron.

Macron pointed out that there was no specific date for Serbia's EU accession.

"If we set a date, then we've succeeded or we haven't. This is a process in which everyone must play a part. It is a process that brings Serbia closer to the EU. There are a number of reforms... and the sooner we conduct reforms the faster we will be able to pass certain stages," said Macron.

When a French reporter asked him why he would not be meeting with the leaders of the Serbian opposition, Macron said that the opposition's request for a meeting had come in too late, but added that there was a constant dialogue with the French embassy in Serbia.

"The letter arrived this morning, I could not accept, the program was done," said Macron.

Earlier on July 15, at the beginning of his visit, President Macron said that France wanted to turn over a new leaf in the relationship with Serbia.

"We want to turn the page together. We have just unveiled a new construction notice board at the airport, a symbol of our trade relations," Macron said, after having unveiled, together with his Serbia counterpart, Aleksandar Vucic, a notice board marking the beginning of modernization of the Nikola Tesla airport, operated by France's Vinci.

President Macron said that Belgrade and Paris had arrived at an important point in their relationship, commemorating the Armistice Day centenary, and celebrating 180 years since diplomatic relations between the two states were restored.

President Macron noted that it had been 18 years since the last visit to Belgrade by a French president. "It's much too long," he said.

"We want new partnerships, we want to build together. I want to work on that with you. We can talk about our shared past, but we need to talk about the future, too," the French president said.