Vucinac in Berlin: Compromise with Kosovo means that both sides lose little

Serbia's President Aleksandar Vuciq said Friday in Berlin that his country would be obliged to make serious decisions on which it depends on whether to join the European Union by 2025, as envisioned in its enlargement strategy.

He made these comments at the beginning of the meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who stressed Serbia's role in the region.

“Serbia plays an essential role against Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina and around, it is important that we discuss closely” said Mrs. Merkel, who hosted the Serbian president for the second time since the beginning of the year to discuss the region's integration processes, with special emphasis on normalising relations with Kosovo, which is a condition for Serbia's integration into the European Union, the Voice of America broadcasts.

The Serbian president said the European Union is essential for his country's progress.

We will have to make serious and painful decisions if we want to be part of the European Union. Whether this will happen in 2025 or at a different time, it is up to us, whether we will be able to make the reforms that are expected from us, but also from some other developments in the region”, he said.

The year 2018 is the period when the European Union expects progress in talks between Kosovo and Serbia on a binding legal agreement for normalising relations between them.

Tensions between the two countries increased last month when Pristina arrested and expelled a Serbian official, who had entered Kosovo territory without permission.

The Serbian president said in Berlin that he will do everything possible to avoid tensions, conflicts or any destabilisation in the region.

Serbia thinks that any conflict in the Balkans would turn 100 years behind our countries and people”, said the Serbian president, who after the meeting told Serbian media that he has repeated in conversation with Chancellor Merkel, that compromise with Kosovo means that both sides are missing by little.

Pristina, meanwhile, emphasises that both sides must come out of the agreement, ensuring integration into Western structures.