Slovenian President: No strong dialogue, no trust problem between Pristina, Belgrade

Slovenian President Borut Pahor said he supports dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia from the beginning, but that there is currently a major problem of confidence between the sides.
“Supports dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia from the very beginning. It's a difficult issue, but right now there's a big problem of trust between the parties. I'm in touch with both sides and I see how hard it is with that distrust. We have recently witnessed an event that we fear will increase. If there is no strong dialogue, there is always the danger of such events that could increase tensions. Right now there's no strong dialogue. I try to encourage the parties to do their best because the peace agreement between Belgrade and Pristina is important not only for the peace and stability of the two countries, but also for the entire region”, Pahor said.

In an interview for the Anadolu Agency, Pahor said that in the long term, the only way to solve problems in the Western Balkans is to speed up the country's membership process in the European Union.

He said he has long been trying to draw the attention of his colleagues in NATO and the EU for events in the Western Balkans.

Some countries are under direct pressure from Russia”, he warned.

Also stressing that Serbia is under great pressure to implement the sanctions of the Western bloc and the EU, Pahor recalled that Serbia's EU membership process continues and avokoi for accelerating the Western Balkan countries' EU membership process.

Pahor added that it costs importance to EU membership to show whose side are all countries, including Serbia.

“If Serbia decides to take the other side, Republika Srpska's future in Bosnia and Herzegovina could gain another”, Pahor warned.

He underlined that he wants as soon as possible to see all Western Balkan countries in the EU.

The only “solution is to speed up the EU membership process. I think the EU should do more. We see a similar process in relations between Kosovo and Serbia, as well as tension between specific ethnic groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where elections are eagerly expected. In long term, the only way to solve these problems is to speed up the EU membership process”, Pahor says, adding that the Western Balkans will be even more exposed to Russia if NATO continues to wait.