Srdanovic: Kosovo dialogue stays, protocols face review
The head of the Student List says talks on Kosovo and Metohija will continue, but agreed protocols could be reviewed against Serbia's Constitution.
Ilija Srdanovic, the lead candidate of the Student List - Students Win, said the dialogue on Kosovo and Metohija will continue, but that agreed protocols could be reviewed against Serbia’s Constitution. He made the statement on October 27 in Novi Sad, two days after the snap parliamentary elections, on the program “Uvid” of Radio Free Europe (RSE).
Srdanovic says continuing talks with Pristina is part of the students’ plan and that their Kosovo platform is in line with the Serbian Constitution. “Continuing the dialogue on Kosovo and Metohija is a core part of the students’ plan,” he said.
Asked whether that means the list stands by dialogue and full implementation, he replied:
“Absolutely. We remain open, we leave room for open dialogue and for resolving issues in the interest, above all, of our citizens and everyone in the international community.”
What does Srdanovic say about the Brussels Agreement?
He did not confirm that the Brussels Agreement on normalizing relations, signed in 2013 with European Union mediation, would be implemented in full. Asked about full implementation, he said the new authorities would respect internationally agreed protocols, then added:
“All the protocols that our officials agreed on behalf of Serbia can be, it does not have to mean they will be, but can be reviewed as to whether they comply with the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia.”
Srdanovic did not specify which protocols would come under review. Nor did he say whether he would meet Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti. The list, he explained, has not yet taken over a mandate, so it will decide on matters of strategic importance once a government is formed.
What did he say about Banjska and Radoicic?
The RSE journalist also asked who will decide on Kosovo’s request for the extradition of Milan Radoicic, who took responsibility for the armed attack in Banjska. Srdanovic answered that, as an individual and before a government is formed, he cannot offer a judgment on it.
“But we will certainly aim to make decisions on all such matters later, in line with the legal procedures that apply in the Republic of Serbia.”
Pristina has made exactly this issue a condition: Kurti ties the continuation of high-level political dialogue to Radoicic’s extradition. The Student List has not so far taken a clear position on Banjska.
Who will be prime minister?
Srdanovic did not name a candidate for prime minister. “The names, that is, the personnel choices in the government, will be made by the majority group of deputies from the Student List,” he said. He noted that the Republic Electoral Commission has not yet declared final results, and that the number of seats will, in his assessment, be “more or less as it is.”
Asked about the European path, he answered that Serbia stays on it and that domestic policy will be aligned with Chapters 23 and 24. The stance toward Russia and sanctions, he said, will be decided by the citizens of Serbia.
What do Kuzmanovic, Kurti and Rasic say?
Student List candidate Vladan Kuzmanovic spoke to the N1 television channel about the Serbian List, and RSE relayed the statement:
“First we will help them live with dignity, and then we will continue the negotiations that were started and that, because of this government’s hypocritical policy, have hit a dead end. So that citizens begin to live with dignity, so that no one oppresses them, including local strongmen.”
The Serbian List was founded in 2013 with the backing of the SNS and Aleksandar Vucic. It holds nine of the ten seats reserved for Serbs in the Kosovo Assembly, while the tenth belongs to Nenad Rasic’s party For Freedom, Justice and Survival. It has not commented since the Student List’s election win.
At a Kosovo government session on October 28, Kurti addressed the elections in Serbia but did not clearly state his position on cooperation with the new authorities in Belgrade. He noted that the SNS lost its majority in parliament and that the SPS is left outside the Assembly:
“A quarter of a century after the defeat of Milosevic and Seselj at the start of the 21st century, their political heirs, (Aleksandar) Vucic and (Ivica) Dacic, have been defeated as well.”
Rasic, a minister in Kurti’s government, told RSE he expects the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue to continue and hopes both sides will turn toward European integration. The EU-mediated dialogue has been under way since 2011. We reported earlier on the vote of Kosovo-based voters: Vucic’s list received 71.63 percent there, and the students 21.09 percent.
