Hoxhaj for Der Standard: Dialogue with Serbia to end with Kosovo's UN membership

Former Kosovo Foreign Affairs Minister Enver Hoxhaj in an interview for the Austrian daily Der Standard has said dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia will end with mutual recognition and with Kosovo's UN membership.

In the interview for Der Standard, Hoxhaj has stressed that Kosovo is in the last phase of state-building, and thus with Serbia should no longer be discussed on technical issues. If the dialogue did not end with mutual recognition and Kosovo membership at the UN, then Hoxhaj says the talks would have no meaning.

“We are in the last phase of state-building and should no longer discuss technical issues. EU and US-backed dialogue should lead us to the final phase, where Kosovo takes its seat in the United Nations and has a mutual recognition between Serbia and Kosovo. Without that, everything is meaningless”, Hoxhaj said about Der Standard, writes Express.

Likewise, Hoxhaj has stressed that dialogue with Serbia should be limited in time and in content.

Kosovo and Serbia are neighbouring countries and mutual recognition would be the only goal. While Serbia does not recognise Kosovo, there cannot be a process of reconciliation among the peoples”, Hoxhaj has added.

Hoxhaj has said the idea of changing the borders proposed by the Serbian diplomat, Ivica Dacic, is wrong and jeopardises stability in the region.

Serbia is often talking about this scenario, but history has proved to be wrong. Borders in the Balkans are firm, and anyone making such proposals regarding Kosovo risks stability. This would have an effect dominoes, which would be unacceptable even to the European Union and the United States. We are against partition or any exchange of territories with the Presevo Valley. It is in Serbia's interest to modernise and be a European country. The last test for this is Kosova”, Hoxhaj said.