British Ambassador to Belgrade: Disturbing that for Banjska no one has responded

The United Kingdom's Ambassador to Serbia, Edward Ferguson, has said it is a fact that the positions of Serbia and Great Britain overlap when it comes to Kosovo's status, but stresses there are also things to which they agree.

“We recognise Kosovo as a sovereign and independent state. And obviously we disagree. But we agree, for example, that we should see progress in normalising relations between Belgrade and Pristina. Solving some problems that could lead to escalation and tension and that could harm Serbia's stability, political reputation and economic trajectory”, he says in an interview for “Euronews Serbia”.

Ferguson says Great Britain also shares major concern for the Serb community living in Kosovo.

“I visited in November, I was in northern Mitrovica, in Gracanica and I met a community that is under pressure, they feel stress and we want to find ways to reduce tensions, improve dialogue”, he says.

As he adds, Great Britain always makes it clear that it does not want any unilateral moves from either side, whether Kosovo or Serbia, which could lead to escalation. However, he adds, the situation on the ground is different.

“We clearly say that we are not satisfied with certain things that authorities in Pristina have undertaken, such as expropriation, as well as some other things that we have clearly said are not satisfied and that are not compatible with Kosovo's legal system. We have also seen incidents like the attack on Banjska, when in September a group of people with guns killed a cop, started shooting and a year later, no one has responded to that attack. I can tell you that this has caused concern and frustration in London and other representatives in Europe. Therefore, both sides must make continued efforts to find a way to reduce tensions so that all return to dialogue”, he said.

He said that in Ohrid, Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbia's President Allexandander Vuciq made a plan for normalisation, but said “we are not even about to be satisfied with the” progress.

“We have seen little progress, which we welcome, as is recognition of Kosovo license plates from Serbia. Kosovo finally implemented the Constitutional Court's decision on property belonging to the Decani Monastery. Great Britain has been too involved to pressure this to happen. But much needs to be done to stabilize, and that's what we want from”, Ferguson stressed.